The Hardest Decision: A Regius Fanficition
by lucxreg
Summary: What Lucius and Regulus got up to at school. Lucius/Regulus, Lucius/Abigail, Regulus/Eleanor
1. Chapter 1

Lucius stood near one of the windows looking into the Lake, watching distractedly as Grindylows, mermaids and other creatures swam past. His bag lay discarded on the chair he was standing next to. Slowly the room began to empty as the other Slytherins left for bed. Luc paid them no attention, his mind on one person only. He stared into the fire, one name filling his head.

"Distracted are you?"

Lucius jumped, and, recognising the voice immediately, blushed.

"Reg! Don't sneak up on me like that again!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Regulus said, sarcastic as usual. "Why are you blushing? Having dirty thoughts about one of the girls again?"

"What? I'm not blushing!" Lucius replied defensively.

"I think you are…"

"Am not!"

Regulus rolled his eyes, which Luc answered with a playful slap on the arm.

"Come on, Malfoy. You know better than to fight me."

Lucius rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Reg. It's probably time we went to bed."

Regulus shook his head. "I was thinking that we could have some fun," he said with a wink.

"What did you have in mind?" Lucius asked cautiously.

"Well we have our secret Firewhiskey supply…."

Lucius nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Sounds good. It's been too long since we last had Luc and Reg time.

Regulus cringed. "Luc, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't say that. You always make it sound kinky."

Lucius laughed. "Sorry. Anyway, it's Firewhiskey time!"

Lucius needed something to distract him from his own thoughts, and the consequences of drinking didn't cross his mind. He didn't think once about where it would take them. Regulus grabbed two glasses and the bottle of Firewhiskey from their hiding spot behind a chair in the corner of the room and handed one of the glasses to Lucius.

"Promise me we won't get too drunk," Lucius said.

"Luc, it's a Saturday night. Where's the fun in not getting that drunk?"

Lucius considered his friend's argument and nodded. "Fine, fine."

Regulus grinned and poured the Firewhiskey. Lucius brought his to his lips and sipped it. He smiled as the liquid slipped down his throat, many memories of nights like these coming back to him.

"Why are you looking so happy?"

"No reason," Lucius replied, taking another large sip from his glass. Regulus did the same.

Almost an hour later and onto their third glasses of Firewhiskey, Lucius looked over to Regulus, who was staring into the fire, the orange light playing on his face. Lucius' breath caught in his throat. He couldn't believe how amazing Regulus looked.

"What is it, Luc?" Regulus asked, catching his best friend staring at him.

"Oh…nothing!" he replied, defensively, beginning to blush.

"Why are you blushing? Thinking about how sexy I look?"

"Oh…well…ummm….yes," Lucius replied slowly, blushing.

Regulus looked surprised, and his cheeks grew a little pink, something that wouldn't have happened had he not drunk three glasses of Firewhiskey. "Oh…thank you. But I guess I always do. You don't look so bad yourself."

Lucius smiled and his cheeks grew darker. He looked down into his glass and then drained the last of the Firewhiskey in it. He got up off the couch and refilled both of their glasses. He handed Regulus his and then sat beside him on the couch. The silence caused by what Lucius had just admitted hung between them, both wondering where it would take them. Lucius looked into his glass and Regulus continued to stare into the fire. Lucius moved a little closer to Reg, careful not to spill his drink, until their shoulders were touching. He turned to face Regulus and kissed him softly. He pulled away, trying to gauge Regulus' reaction. Regulus responded by placing his glass on the floor and taking Lucius' from his hand and putting it on the ground as well. He then leaned in and kissed Lucius. Lucius kissed him back, the only possible reaction. Regulus pulled away and stared into Lucius' eyes. They sat there for a moment, staring at each other. Regulus grinned and Lucius felt the edges of his mouth lifting up as well. Regulus grabbed the front of Luc's robes and pulled him towards him. Their lips met and Lucius began to appreciate how skilled Regulus was at kissing for the first time. The kiss started soft and cautious but became steadily more passionate. Lucius ran his hands up Regulus' arms and wrapped his arms around Regulus' neck. One of Regulus' hands moved to Luc's back, pulling him closer. The other went to his neck. Eventually, Regulus pulled away slowly. Lucius felt disappointed and a little embarrassed for having forced himself onto Reg, while he was drunk.

"I'm sorry, Reg…" he said softly, looking down at his hands, not wanting to meet Reg's eyes.

"Luc, shut up. This isn't over."

"What?"

"It's not over," Reg repeated, tugging off his robe and tie.

"Wait, you actually mean that?"

"Yes, of course I do! You're a little slow, aren't you?"

"Oh Reg…"

"Shut up and kiss me again."

Lucius grinned and pulled off his own robe and tie.

"Hurry up, you," Reg said, impatiently.

Lucius leant in and kissed him again. This time the kiss became passionate very quickly. Lucius' hands went to the front of Reg's shirt, quickly unbuttoning it. He finished the last one and pulled the shirt off. Reg's skin was unbelievably soft and smooth and Luc couldn't keep his hands from running over Reg's muscled chest and shoulders. He began to realise why Reg was able to throw such a good punch, yet at the same time could hardly believe how carefully Reg was holding him. He brought his hands to his own buttons, but Reg pushed them away and began to unbutton them himself, then sliding it off his shoulders. Luc pulled back slowly, panting.

"What are you doing?" Reg asked.

"Taking you to my room," Luc said with a wink.

Reg was a little shocked; it wasn't something he expected Luc to say. But he certainly wasn't complaining. "Lead the way, Mr Malfoy."

Lucius grabbed Reg's hand and pulled him towards the stairs. They entered the stairwell and Reg pushed Luc against the wall and kissed him quickly. He then pulled away and they continued up the stairs, both smiling widely. They reached their room and Luc pushed Reg against the closed door, kissing him passionately. One hand ran up Reg's arm and the other went to the doorknob and opened the door. They slipped into the room and stood for a moment kissing in the doorway until Reg pulled them towards his bed and Luc kicked the door shut.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucius' eyes flicked open and saw a dark head resting against his bare chest. At first he was shocked, but the headache gave him a fair idea of what had happened the night before. He looked down at Reg and saw his eyes flicker open. Before he could even say anything, he was shoved off the bed.

"What was that for?"

"That was for last night."

"Oh…what happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

"Not much, to be honest. How much did I drink?"

"A few glasses of Firewhiskey."

"So what did I do?"

"You forced yourself onto me! You were quite drunk…well you know how you are when you're drunk…I was drunk, but not as drunk…and you wouldn't listen to me!"

Lucius was shocked by what Regulus said. He knew how he was when he was drunk, but he could hardly believe that he had taken things that far. "I'm sorry, Reg. I…I clearly wasn't thinking straight. I'm so sorry."

"Just stay away from me."

Lucius felt his heart sinking. When he had woken next to Regulus, without him even realising it, a small part of him thought there was hope. A small part of him thought he had some kind of a chance with the boy he had been falling in love with. And something inside him had thought for a moment that Reg was in love with him. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a jumper and pulled them on, then left the room. He stopped just outside the door and leant against the cool stone wall, trying to stop himself from crying. When he felt he had gained enough control, he walked quickly down into the common room and then out into the corridor. Once he had left the common room, he picked up his pace and walked through the corridors and towards the grounds. The cold air hit him as he left the castle but he barely noticed it. He was thankful for the strong wind that meant the rest of the students were inside. He made his way towards the Lake and sat down beside it. The last of his self-control gave way and the tears began to flow. He brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, tears streaming down his face, wind whipping around his body.

Lucius didn't know how long he had been sitting there when he heard footsteps behind him. He wiped his cheeks and turned towards the noise. When he saw Reg standing behind him, he turned back to face the Lake, willing himself not to cry. Regulus sat down next to him and they sat in silence for a moment.

"Luc?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I…err…lied to you."

"What? Reg, I'm confused."

"You…didn't force yourself onto me. I…wanted it too."

"Wait what?"

"I took advantage of you not remembering what happened…but I was willing. I…err…enjoyed it. I was just really confused, Luc. I didn't understand what I was feeling. I thought it would be easier to pretend it never happened. But I've been thinking. For about four hours."

"I've been here for four hours?"

"Almost."

"So…what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I think we need to discuss this really thoroughly. Because I really do care about you. I didn't think it was possible, but I guess it is."

"I don't want to ruin this. Any of it. Our friendship or something…more than that."

Regulus smiled. "That's why we need to talk about this. We know what our families are like. They'd probably kill us if they found out."

Luc nodded. "I know. But maybe this is something we can do for ourselves. Maybe this is the one thing we can do without considering what they will think of it."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. But we still need to consider our friendship and what will happen if it doesn't work out between us."

"Even if it doesn't, I'd never want to lose you as a friend. You were my first real friend."

"Come on, you're going to freeze if you stay here any longer. Let's get back to our room."

Regulus stood up and then helped Lucius off the ground. Lucius wrapped his arm around Regulus' shoulders. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. The two boys made their way towards the castle in silence, both smiling but deep in thought about one of the hardest decisions of their lives.

An hour and a half later, Lucius and Regulus sat on their beds avoiding eye contact. Despite everything that had happened the previous night, or perhaps because of it, there was awkwardness between them which was making the conversation difficult. Lucius cleared his throat for what was probably the hundredth time. Regulus looked up from his hands.

"We really need to talk about this," he said.

Lucius nodded. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

Regulus sighed. "I'm not sure," he said. He stood up and moved to Luc's bed to sit beside him. "I told myself I'd never feel this way about anyone, because my parents would choose who I marry either way. I told myself that it wasn't fair on the person I care about. I couldn't force someone to feel that pain. But actually feeling this way about you…well, it's not like how I would have expected. I want to fight for it. And yes, it may be hard for us. They will try to stop it and we both know that. But I think we should give it a chance. I think together we can make it work. And if we can't, well we tried. And for a moment, we had something special that we've both wanted but never thought we could have."

Lucius smiled. "Hearing you say that…it means more to me than you could know. I didn't think it was possible for someone to feel that way about me."

"Of course it is, Luc. So, are we going to try this?"

"Yes. However long it lasts, it'll be worth it. For me anyway. Just promise me something. If it doesn't work out, we'll still be friends. I want you in my life, however that may be."

Regulus smiled. "Of course. You are my best friend, whatever happens."

"Well, I guess I have something to ask then. Regulus Black, would you like to go out with me?"

Regulus blushed. "I would love to, Lucius."

Lucius grinned. "Well that's very good news."

Regulus smiled back at him. Lucius reached out and embraced the one person who mattered at that moment. They embraced for a moment, at last entirely comfortable in each other's arms. Lucius sneaked a quick kiss on Reg's cheek and Reg replied by meeting Luc's lips with his own. The kiss was only quick, as both felt self-conscious, even though they were alone in the room. They both smiled widely, having trouble containing their happiness. Lucius blushed and Reg met his eye and laughed.

"You are adorable. I haven't noticed before."

Lucius slapped him lightly. Regulus leant in and kissed him quickly. He pulled away and smiled.

"Oh by the way, have you done my homework yet? The weekend is almost over," he said with a grin.

"I've done some of it Reg. It's a bit difficult to do your best friend's homework on top of your own."

"I think you mean your boyfriend's homework. You love me enough to do it. Plus, I'll pay you in kisses," Reg said with a quick wink.

"Fine, I'll do it."

"Yes! I knew the bribe of kisses would work."

"Oh shut up you."


	3. Chapter 3

Three days later, Lucius sat in a private corner of the library where he had agreed to meet Reg. He was still very much on his I-just-got-a-boyfriend-I'm-so-in-love high. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching the secluded corner and stood up. When he saw Reg, a huge smile spread across his face but as Reg got closer and he was able to see the expression on his boyfriend's face, it quickly vanished.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked.

"They know," Regulus replied, handing Luc the letter that he was holding.

"Who knows?"

"Just read the letter."

Lucius quickly read the letter, his heart sinking. "Who told them?"

"We can worry about that later. But for now…we can't do this."

"Oh."

"Come on Luc, I don't like it either, but you read the letter. They'll disown us. We'll have nothing. Sure, maybe if this had come further down the track, we could have tried to get through it, we could have fought them. But it's been three days. We don't know how well this work anyway."

"Right."

"Oh Luc. Don't be sad. Maybe later on, things will change. We just need to let them calm down. You know what they're like."

"They're our parents! We can't let them control our lives! Where will that leave us?"

"Lucius, you know perfectly well that the last names that we're born with mean that they feel they have every right to control and influence our lives however they wish. We'll grow up. Your parents will marry you off to…oh, I don't know, Narcissa or someone. You'll have a child, maybe two or three. Your parents will be so proud of their son. I don't fit into that picture."

Tears began to well in Lucius' eyes. "I can make you fit. I'll fight for you."

"No. I can't. Luc, this is for you. You're going to be happy. You'll thank me one day. You know what our families are like. If we try to fight them, they'll make us pay and I don't want you to go through that for anyone. Especially not me. This is for you too. We can't do this."

"Why are you doing this?" Lucius asked the hurt clear in this voice.

Regulus turned away. "Don't do this, Luc. Be happy. It hurts me too, but we can't."

"Be happy? How do you expect me to do that? I've been in love with you for a long time now, Reg. Then finally, finally I thought I had a chance. And then I was happy. But I can't be happy letting you go," Lucius said through his tears.

Regulus couldn't meet Luc's eyes; he knew it would crush the last of the self-control he was desperately holding onto. "It's for now Luc. Maybe, if we get through this…but for now, while there are these threats, I can't do this. I can't ruin your future too. Mine, I can deal with, but I couldn't do that to someone else. Especially not someone I care about."

"Don't you get it? I don't want that! I want you!"

"Luc…"

"I do! And I'm not afraid to say it."

"I'm not sure…Luc, I do care about you, but I'm not sure our relationship has progressed enough yet for me to…fight the hardest fight for it."

"We had sex and you don't think our relationship is progressed enough?"

"We were drunk! And it's more than that. I can't explain it, but we haven't been going out for very long. Like I said, maybe when they calm down, we can try it again. Keep it more secret and just see how it goes without all of this panic and people watching every move. Then if that works and we still feel this way about each other, we can discuss how we deal with our parents. Whether we fight them."

"And for now?"

"For now, we just go back to what we had before, I guess."

Lucius stared at Reg for a moment and then nodded. "I guess. I wish this hadn't happened."

Regulus sighed. "Me too, Luc."

"Well, are we going to do our work then?"

Regulus nodded. The pair sat down at a table, Lucius pulled out his Charms essay and Regulus pulled out the book that he had been reading and pushed his own essay towards Luc. The pair sat in silence, trying to keep themselves distracted from their deep internal pain.


	4. Chapter 4

After three weeks of extreme awkwardness between them, both trying to forget everything that had happened, Luc and Reg sat in silence on their beds. Luc was re-reading the letter he had written to his parents, a pillow hugged to his chest as comfort. Regulus was absorbed in the book he had been reading lately. He glanced up at Lucius and saw tears in his friend's eyes. Despite his attempts to shut Luc out of his life forever, he couldn't stop caring. Looking at him now, his eyes filled with tears, filled Reg with pain.

"Luc?" he said softly, regretting it instantly.

Lucius looked up from the letter and met his eyes. The tears he had been trying to control spilled over, pouring down his face as he stared into the eyes of the person he loved. Regulus had never seen him this vulnerable before and he just wanted to reach over and pull Luc into his arms and tell him everything would be alright. But he didn't. He couldn't. He broke Luc's gaze and stared at the floor.

"It was Narcissa," he said quietly.

"What?"

"Narcissa told them. Apparently, she saw us being….well a little more than friendly…in the common room and she wrote to my parents, who then wrote to your parents. Then they sort of teamed up to make sure it ended."

"But what does she get out of telling them?"

"Their favour. Your parents might even arrange for her to marry you."

"I wouldn't want to marry her."

"You know you have no choice. If they choose her, that's who you're marrying."

"No. She caused this! I couldn't marry her!"

Regulus sighed. Lucius returned his attention to the letter. He grabbed a quill to change something and then threw the letter down in frustration.

"Luc, you don't need to write to them."

"Yes, I do. I can tell them that they have no right to interfere with my life."

Regulus sighed again. "You know that whatever you say will have no impact on them at all. They don't change their minds. You know what they're like. They think they're doing what's best for your future. And maybe they are right."

"I don't care what's best for my future! I care about you!"

"And you know that that isn't an argument that is going to change their minds. Luc, don't get your hopes up. Maybe it's better this way."

"Maybe it's better that I marry your cousin? Maybe it's better that I don't get to be with the person I love? Maybe it's better that I forget about you? That any of this ever happened? Is that what you're saying?" Lucius said angrily.

"Luc, calm down!"

Lucius stood up, grabbing the letter. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it is better this way. Especially if you don't even care," he said softly. He slowly ripped the letter into small pieces and let them fall to the floor. Regulus watched him silently, still shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Luc, I do care. That's why I have to do this."

Lucius stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. "If you cared, you'd fight. You'd fight like I want to."

"That's not fair Luc."

"Isn't it?" Lucius said, before walking out of the room.

Regulus collapsed onto his bed and put his head in his hands. Lucius descended from the dorms into the common room, walking straight to the door and out into the deserted corridor. He contemplated going out onto the grounds, but decided against it. He leaned against the cold stone wall a few metres away from the entrance to the common room, breathing heavily. He let his knees give out from underneath him and fell to the floor. He sat there, his back against the cool stone, tears streaming silently down his face, for an hour.


	5. Chapter 5

Three hours later, Lucius still hadn't returned to their room. Reg would never tell him, but he was worried about Luc. Knowing him, he was probably swimming in the freezing cold lake. With a sigh, Reg decided to go looking for Luc before he did something stupid. He walked down into the common room, ignoring everyone. He walked out of the door and was shocked to find Luc curled up asleep a little way down the corridor. A pair of third years walked past, sending Luc a strange look.

"Hey. What do you think you're looking at?" Reg said, pulling out his wand.

The third years moved quickly to the entrance of the common room, frightened. Regulus grinned slightly, then remembered why he was there. He walked quickly over to Luc and leant down and shook him.

"Luc, wake up."

Luc's eyes flew open. "What? Where am I?"

"Well you were asleep in the corridor…."

"Oh…I can't feel my arm."

"Come on, get up. You can't sleep here. I've already had to scare away two third years."

Luc pulled himself off the cold ground and walked straight past Reg, without saying anything.

"Luc…"

Lucius turned around to face him, trying to keep his emotions in check. "What?"  
"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Where would you like me to start?"

Regulus stared at Luc silently, confused by the out of character behaviour. He'd never seen Lucius act like this before. Lucius clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. He turned on his heel and stormed back into the common room. Reg waited, giving Luc enough time to reach their room, before following. When he entered the room, the hangings were drawn around Luc's bed. He hesitated, unsure if he should pull the hangings open and force Luc to explain himself. He decided against it, with Luc acting the way he was, Regulus had no idea how he would react. He walked to the bathroom, readied himself for sleep and returned to his own bed. He sat down on the bed, staring at the hangings. He realised that this was the first time Luc had closed them since third year. It felt so strange to not be able to look over and see Luc, to talk to him. He couldn't understand the way Luc was acting. It made no sense to him. He felt like he'd done something wrong, but he had no idea what it was. He usually understood Luc perfectly; he'd always been able to read him like a book. But this Luc? This Luc was impossible to understand. He shook his head. There was not point worrying about it now; he'd never be able to sleep if he did. He hoped that Luc's mood had improved by morning and that he'd be more open to questions. He got into bed and pulled his own hangings closed around him. It was the most alone Regulus had felt since Sirius had left.


	6. Chapter 6

Luc woke up early the next morning and, not expecting Reg to be awake, pulled open his hangings, planning to go for a walk around the grounds to clear his mind. He certainly didn't expect to see Reg fully dressed and sitting on his bed, waiting expectantly. He stared at Reg, unsure of what to say.

"Luc, we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about!"

"You're acting like me!"

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"No, I just don't understand you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Regulus sighed, trying to work out the best way to say it. "Usually, I understand you. We're best friends, it makes sense. But right now, I have no idea what's going through your head. I can't even begin to explain why you're acting like this."

Lucius was silent for a moment, thinking. Reg's cat, Dexter, jumped up onto his bed and stared up at him. He patted her absentmindedly, trying to get his thoughts in order.

"Luc?"

"I…umm…you…we…I'm not entirely sure how to say this…"

"Please try."

Luc stared at Reg for a moment and tried again. "I love you. And I think you care about me too. And it's hard spending all my time with you, but not being able to show that love. And I understand why, you have good reasons. But I want to fight for this. I get that after only a few days, hearing that from our parents meant that we end it because we weren't really sure how much it meant to us or how serious it was. But maybe if we try again…maybe things can be different."

"No."

"Oh."

"Luc, listen to me. I'm doing this because I care about you. I'm doing this to protect your future."

"I need you, Reg!"

"I'm not saying that we have to be the way we have for the past few weeks. I'm saying that we can't be together."

"So you'll still be my best friend?"

"No matter what."

"Well…"

"And maybe later we can have something more. Once we've left Hogwarts."

"I suppose it's better than nothing."

Regulus smiled. "Good. Now give me my cat."

"Dexter has a mind of her own. Not my fault that she wants to sit with me."

Regulus whistled to summon Dexter to him and she jumped down from beside Luc and jumped up onto Reg's lap. Reg smiled innocently at Luc.

"You cheated!" Luc accused.

"What fun would it be if I played fair?"

Lucius shook his head and laughed. "I think I'm going to go for a walk. I haven't done that for a while."

Regulus nodded. "Okay. I might go to the library."

"Regulus Back? In the library? By choice?"

"Oh shut up. There's a book I want to borrow ."

"Well at least it's not for homework."

"Weren't you going for a walk?"

"Weren't you going to the library?"

Regulus rolled his eyes and placed Dexter on the floor before standing up. "Come on Dex, let's go to the library. See you later, Luc." He walked to the door and began making his way to the library, Dexter following him.

Lucius nodded and quickly changed out of his pyjamas and into jeans, a warm jumper and his coat. He sighed and began to make his way down to the grounds. He walked through the corridors which were close to deserted due to the early hour. As he left the castle and walked onto the grounds, the cool fresh air brought a smile to his face. He walked down to the Lake and rounded it twice, before sitting down beside it and taking in the grounds. It was then he noticed a figure diving in at the opposite side of the Lake.

"What an idiot. It must be freezing in there," he said under his breath. He watched as the figure began to swim towards him. As it came closer, he realised it was a girl, but it wasn't until she was very close to the bank that he worked out who it was.

"Hello Lucius," she said with a smile.

"Abigail. Isn't it freezing in there?"

"Abbey," she corrected. "And no, it's not too bad. I've been swimming when it's been colder."

Abbey began to get out of the water and Lucius blushed when he realised that she wore only her pink leopard print underwear. He caught himself admiring her figure and blushed darker. Abbey noticed this and smiled widely, glad that she was having an effect on him. She sat down beside him and threw her dark hair over one shoulder.

"Dry me off?"

"Of course," Lucius said, grabbing his wand and waving it quickly. He then shrugged off his coat and handed it to her. "I don't want to be the reason you get sick. Although really it would be your own fault for swimming in this weather."

Abbey took his coat and slipped into it. "Thanks, Lucius. That's very kind of you. I hope you're not always this kind. Otherwise you might be better suited to Hufflepuff."

Lucius smiled. "No, not always. It depends on who it is," he replied, blushing again.

"You blush a lot," Abbey commented.

This only caused Lucius' cheeks to grow darker, which made Abbey giggle. "You're rather adorable. Come on, let's walk around the Lake. I need to retrieve my clothes."

Lucius nodded and stood up, before offering her a hand to help her to her feet. Abbey smiled.

"I must be special if I can make you behave so kindly."

Lucius didn't reply and began walking around the Lake to where Abbey's discarded clothes lay. Abbey walked beside him and he noted how well she kept up with his pace and how beautiful she was. When they reached the spot where her clothes lay, she turned to him and looked up to meet his eyes.

"Go out with me."

"Excuse me?"

"Go out with me."

"Why?"

"Because I like you. I've been interested in you for a while now. And I can tell from all the blushing you've been doing that you are interested too."

"Oh am I now?"

"Yes you are."

"Prove it."

"Gladly." Abbey stretched up onto her tiptoes and kissed Luc. He kissed her back and pulled her a little closer. Abbey pulled away and grinned.

"Well, I think I've proven my point. So will you go out with me?"

Lucius hesitated, wondering what Regulus would say. "I…ahhh…"

"It's a simple yes or no, Lucius."

"Yes. Yes, I'll go out with you."

Abbey smiled. "Excellent." She pulled on her clothes and Lucius noted the way her clothes hugged her figure and blushed again, forcing himself to look away. Abbey smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, Lucius. Let's go back to the common room."

"Call me Luc. Or anything else you'd like to, I suppose. Just not Lucius."

"Why not Lucius?"

"It just…well that's what everyone calls me."

"And I'm special. So I get to call you something different."

Lucius smiled. "Something like that."

Abbey pulled him towards the castle and Lucius followed her, easily keeping up with her pace, which he wasn't used to as Regulus' gait was a lot longer than his. They reached the common room and Lucius walked over to an armchair beside the fire, pulling Abbey onto his lap. He leaned in and kissed her softly, pulling her closer. Abbey kissed him back and ran her hands through his hair. Lucius pulled away slightly. "I think my room is empty, if you'd rather continue this there…"

Abbey smiled, a little surprised. "You know what you want, huh?"

"Yes I do. Is there a problem with that?"

"Nope. Lead the way," she said, jumping off his lap and pulling him up out of the chair. Lucius pulled her up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Halfway up the stairs, he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her again, before leading her the rest of the way to his room. He opened the door and checked to make sure that Regulus isn't there before pulling Abbey in after him and closing the door behind them. Abbey wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to kiss him again. Lucius pulled her towards his bed, still kissing her and began to run his hands up and down her arms. Abbey tugged at the hem of Luc's jumper, signally that she wanted to remove it and Luc pulled away and tugged it off for her. Abbey pulled him back in and kissed him passionately and slipped her hands under his shirt, exploring his chest and stomach with her hands. Lucius pulled his coat off her and threw it onto the floor and then pulled her onto his bed. He played at the hem of her shirt and then pulled it off, once again admiring her underwear and figure.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you are so incredibly sexy."

"I know."

Lucius laughed, and pulled her in to kiss her again. Abbey kissed him back, running her fingers through his hair. Lucius moved his kisses to her neck and continued to move them lower; down her chest and stomach, Abbey moaning softly the whole time. He became annoyed when he reached the waistband of her jeans and played at it, signally that he wanted to remove them. Abbey refused to grant his wish, instead pulling him up to be level with her and kissing him passionately again. She moved her kisses to his neck and then bit him softly. Lucius' soft moan encouraged her and she continued to moving lower, alternating between kisses and soft bites. When she reached the waistband of his pants, she pulled them off, with his assistance and kissed his lips again. Lucius kissed her back and moved his hands cautiously up her back and to the clasp of her bra. Abbey stopped his progress with one hand.

"I think we may need some more privacy before you do that," she whispered into his ear.

Lucius pulled out his wand and waved it quickly to close the hangings around his bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Abbey rolled off Lucius, trying to catch her breath. Lucius smiled at her, breathing heavily.

"You are amazing," she said softly.

"Not as amazing as you," he replied, still grinning widely.

Abbey giggled and poked her tongue out at him. Lucius pulled her close to him and tickled her. Abbey squirmed, giggling. "No…no….stop…" she said, between bouts of giggles.

"Why should I?" he asked, continuing to tickle her.

"Because…you…love…me!" she replied, trying to pull away from him.

Lucius hesitated. "Well…I can't argue with that. I do love you," he said, looking into his eyes.

Abbey smiled. "I love you too."

Lucius blushed. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for loving you."

Lucius blushed again. "I love hearing that."

Abbey laughed. "You sure do blush a lot. And you've only heard it a couple of times."

Lucius smiled. "And I still love hearing it."

"You're adorable."

Lucius blushed and Abbey giggled and snuggled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer.

"You're just as adorable," he whispered.

Abbey giggled. "No, not as adorable as you." Lucius lowered his head to kiss her, but she moved away so that his kiss landed on her cheek.

"You're such a tease," he accused.

"I'm not going to let you have everything you want whenever you want it," she replied, poking her tongue out.

"Don't make me tickle you again."

Abbey moved as far away from him as she could and smiled. "You can't get me now."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

"Good." She poked her tongue out at him again and Lucius shook his head, still smiling.

"I was thinking that maybe we could have a picnic for lunch…down near the lake. Would you be interested?" he asked.

"Only if there's chocolate."

"Of course there will be chocolate."

"Then I guess I could come."

Lucius smiled. "Great. I'll have to go arrange that," he said, starting to sit up to get out of the bed.

Abbey pulled him back down to lie beside her. "Not yet though," she said, snuggling into him.

"No, not quite yet," he replied, wrapping his arms around her.

Lucius heard the door of the room open, then a pause as the person there assessed the scene before them and then the slam of the door as they stormed out.

"Who was that?" Abbey asked.

"That was my roommate."

"Regulus?"

Lucius nodded. "I should probably go after him."

"Yes, that might be a good idea. Will you be back soon?"

"Probably," he replied, kissing her before pulling open the hangings, getting out of his bed and pulling on his clothes and walking down to the common room. He looked around trying to find Regulus, but couldn't see him. He turned, ready to return to Abbey and jumped when he saw

Regulus standing directly behind him.

"Hi…"

Regulus' reply was his famous left hook. Lucius' hand flew to his face and saw deep red as he pulled it away.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You." Regulus punched him again. "Have." Another punch. "A girlfriend!" Two punches.

"I…ahh…yeah…"

"And you didn't think you should discuss it with me?"

"You broke up with me, remember?"

"We agreed to wait until after we finished school and talk about it then!"

"I didn't realise that meant I wasn't allowed to date anyone in the meantime!"

"So you decided to fool around with the next willing girl to come along?"

Lucius became enraged at this accusation. "She's not the just 'the next willing girl to come along'.

She means a lot to me."

"And I mean nothing to you?"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"What are you saying then?"

"You broke up with me. Abbey asked me out. I was interested. So I said yes."

"And then you just had sex with her? You'd just said yes and then the pair of you ran up to our room to have sex?"

"You know I'm not like that. Things…progressed….and that's what ended up happening…"

"You had been going out for only a few hours!"

"May I remind you that we weren't even going out when we first had sex," Lucius replied, careful to keep his voice low to ensure no one overheard.

"And we were also drunk."

"I know that."

"So what's your explanation for what happened with her?"

"I…I don't exactly know, but we were kissing and…well…you know how it works. "

Regulus shook his head. "I can't believe you. I thought you were better than this. I didn't think random girl could seduce you into going out with her. Clearly, I was very wrong."

"She's not just some random girl. She has a name. Abbey."

Regulus made a noise of disgust. "Go back to your bed. Your little slut is waiting for you."

"How dare you say that about her! Insult me all you like, but none of this is her fault."

"What are you going to do? Hit me?"

"Not unless you make me."

"You don't scare me, Malfoy."

"I will if you hurt her."

Regulus laughed bitterly. "I'd like to see you try. I think I'll be going home for Christmas. I don't want to have to be in your presence." he said, before storming past Lucius and out of the common room. Lucius watched him leave and then returned to his room. Abbey still lay in his bed and he walked over and lay down beside her.

"What happened to your face?"

"He punched me."

"He punched you? Are you okay?" Abbey asked

"Yeah, I should be fine. It appears he has issues with me having sex in our room."

"Pity. I rather enjoyed that."

Lucius grinned. "Yeah me too. But he says that he's going to go home for Christmas, so a couple of months and then we'll have this room all to ourselves for two weeks."

"I rather like the sound of that…"

"Yeah, me too. Now I'm going to arrange our picnic. Get dressed and I'll meet you by the Lake in about an hour, armed with food."

"Don't forget my chocolate."

"Never," he replied, kissing her before pulling on his shoes and walking out of the room. He walked through the common room and down to the kitchens. He paused as he passed the Hospital Wing and then walked in to get something for the bruising. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey didn't ask many questions and handed him a vial of cream, with instructions to apply it twice a day. He thanked her and continued on his way to the kitchens, the vial safely stowed in his pocket. He reached the kitchens and began filling a basket with the assistance of the house elves. He made sure to include two blocks of chocolate, one for Abbey and one for him. Well, if he was lucky. He finished packing the basket and began to walk to the grounds, checking how much time he had left. He reached the Lake about fifteen minutes before he had agreed to meet Abbey. He set the basket on the ground and frowned when he realised that he didn't have a blanket. He hesitated and then tugged off his coat and threw it on the ground. He sat down on it and pulled the basket closer to him. He checked his watch again, then ran his hands through his hair and hoped that he looked okay. He pulled the vial out of his pocket and smeared the cream over the areas he believed to be worst affected by punches Regulus had thrown at him. He placed the vial back in his pocket and hoped that it had helped. Suddenly, his eyes were covered by hands and he smiled.

"Guess who?" she whispered into his ears.

"Hmm…can I have a clue?" he asked, grinning.

"Well...I have gorgeous long, dark hair, you seem to rather like my figure, you love me, I'm a vixen…we had some fun in your room earlier….got any ideas yet?"

"You wouldn't be…Abbey, would you?"

Abbey uncovered his eyes. "That took a while."

Lucius smiled. "I just wanted to tease you."

"Teasing is my job. Vixen, remember?"

Lucius laughed. "I rather like that. Vixen. It suits you perfectly."

"Looks like you've found the perfect nickname for me then."

Lucius lay down and pulled Abbey down to lie beside him. He wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her cheek.

"Did you bring my chocolate?" she asked, snuggling into his chest.

"Of course."

"Well I suddenly became very hungry."

Lucius laughed. "Yes, of course you did. Let me grab it for you."

He sat up and opened the basket, rummaging through it and pulling out one of the blocks of chocolate. Abbey reached over and pulled it out of his hand.

"Hey! Don't I get any chocolate? I did bring it."

"You brought it all for me because you love me," she replied, poking her tongue out.

"So I don't get any?"

"Maybe a little bit, but only after you've had something healthy."

"Yes, Mother."

"I don't believe that many people have such a close relationship with their mothers, Lucius."

Lucius blushed, which made Abbey laugh. She reached over and ruffled his hair.

"You're adorable."

Lucius ignored her comment, blushing and rummaged through the basket for a sandwich and handed it to her. "Chicken."

"No, I'm not a chicken."

"The sandwich, I mean."

Abbey laughed and took the sandwich from his hand. "I hope you know I'll be judging how good a boyfriend you are by how much I like this sandwich."

"That's a lot of pressure."

Abbey poked her tongue out at him. "I know."

"Well hurry up and eat it, I can't handle the suspense for much longer."

Abbey giggled and took a bite. "Hmmm…that's one very good sandwich, Luc."

"I'm glad you think so," he replied, pulling out a sandwich for himself.

Abbey quickly finished her sandwich and Luc handed her an apple from the basket. She smiled her thanks and bit into it. Luc finished his sandwich and looked over at her.

"Do I get chocolate now?" he asked.

"Only if you're good," she replied with a mischievous grin.

"Why do I get the feeling you've got an evil plan?"

"Not necessarily evil…I think you'll enjoy it."

Lucius looked at her, suspicious. "So there is a plan?"

Abbey didn't reply, just shot him and large smile.

"You really are such a vixen."

"I know," she replied, poking her tongue out at him.

He shook his head, smiling. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Obey me and I won't hurt you," she replied.

Lucius smiled. "You like to be in charge, don't you?"

"In more ways than one," she replied with a wink.

Lucius blushed, which made Abbey giggle. "Oh there is so much I have to teach you."

"Oh really now? I thought you said I was amazing."

"You are. But I don't think you've shown me quite how amazing you can be, and I know I haven't shown you how amazing I can be."

Lucius smiled widely.

"Don't look so mischievous. It looks like you have a plan."

"Maybe I do."

Abbey looked down at her watch. "Well we've still got time before I need to be back in my room."

"You need to be back in your room?"

"Well yeah, if I don't go back the girls in my room will start gossiping."

"That is a wonderful point. But I'll miss you."

"Well once the holidays start we'll get to spend more time together."

"We will?"

"Well they're all going home for the holidays, I'm not. Regulus is now as well…"

"Hmmm. I like where this is headed."

"Oh I know you do."

Lucius blushed and looked away.

"Oh you're adorable," Abbey said, smiling at him.

"You can stay with me in my room if you like."

"Of course I'd like that. But only if you keep me warm."

"Oh, you want to be with me. How sweet. Of course I'll keep you warm. "

"Well anything is better than having to sleep in a room by yourself," she replied, poking her tongue out at him.

"Ouch. That was low."

"I know it was," she said, smiling.

Lucius pulled her closer to him and tickled her. Abbey giggled and squirmed, trying to get away from him. Luc grinned and persisted.

"Stop stop stop!"

Lucius laughed and gave up. "There you go," he said, pulling her into a tight hug. Abbey snuggled into his chest, making him smile. Abbey grabbed the chocolate from where she had discarded it and began to eat it again.

"Have I been good enough?"

"Good enough for what?"

"To earn chocolate."

Abbey nodded. "You can have a little bite," she said, handing the chocolate over to him. Lucius took the chocolate, smiling, and took a small bite of it.

"Okay, give it back now," Abbey said, holding her hand out.

Lucius shook his head. "My chocolate."

"Luc! Give me back my chocolate!"

He shook his head again, grinning widely. Abbey reached for the chocolate but Luc held it out of her reach. Abbey watched him, trying to work out the best plan of attack. Lucius smiled, thinking that she had given up and took another bite of the chocolate. Suddenly, Abbey leaned in and kissed him passionately. Lucius let go of the chocolate to bring his hands to her neck. Abbey took the opportunity and grabbed the chocolate and then pulled away. She smiled victoriously and took a bite of the chocolate.

"You're evil."

"I prefer evil genius, thank you."

"Genius, huh?"

"You know I am."

Lucius nodded. "I suppose you are."

"Now you're just sucking up."

Lucius grinned. "Maybe."

"You definitely are."

"And you love it."

"It's not the only thing I love."

Luc smiled. "You really are a vixen."

"You love it."

"I must admit, it's rather…sexy."

Abbey giggled. "I'm glad you think so," she said with a small wink.

Lucius pulled an apple out of the basket and took a bite out of it. Abbey watched him, nibbling on the chocolate. Luc quickly finished the apple and threw the core into the Lake. Abbey ate the last of the chocolate and handed the wrapper to Luc, which he put in the basket.

"Do you want to go back up to the common room?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little cold."

Lucius stood up and grabbed Abbey's hand to pull her up with him. He grabbed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, then picked up the picnic basket and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"Do you know if anyone is having a party for Halloween?" Abbey asked.

"Well I heard a rumour that Andromeda Black had organised one, but I haven't had a chance to check that with her."

"Well we'll have to check."

"I'm not generally a party person."

"Luc, you're not generally a social person."

"That is true…"

"Well now you have a reason to be social."

"I do?"

"Yes. You have a wonderful girlfriend to show off."

"That is a good point, but I like our alone time…"

Abbey giggled and playfully slapped his arm. "Maybe you'll get some afterwards. If you're costume meets my high standards."

Lucius shook his head. "You love being in charge."

"In every single way."

They walked up the stairs and into the castle, instantly feeling warmer.

"That's better," Abbey said, pulling off Luc's coat and handing it to him. He smiled and threw it over his arm.

"By the way, there's another block of chocolate in the basket if you want it later."

"Now!"

Lucius laughed and opened the basket, dug through it for the chocolate and then handed it to her. Abbey took a couple of bites, then slipped it into her pocket. Lucius wrapped his arm around her waist and continued to lead her to the common room. They walked into the common room and Abbey took his hand and dragged him over to an armchair in a secluded corner. Lucius sat down, placed the basket beside the chair. He pulled Abbey down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Abbey snuggled into him and he pulled her a little closer. He quickly kissed her cheek and Abbey replied by meeting his lips with hers. Luc kissed her back softly, smiling into the kiss. Abbey let one of her hands travel to the back of his head, tangling it in his messy blond crop. Lucius ran a hand up her arm, letting it rest softly on the back of her neck. Abbey quickly grew impatient at the slow pace and deepened the kiss, moving as close the Luc as she could. She began to let her kisses travel to his neck. Luc tried to bite back a moan, but it escaped through his teeth, only just loud enough for Abbey to hear it. She jumped off his lap and grabbed his hand, pulling him up with her. She started to lead him towards the stairs to the boys' dorms. Lucius smiled, enjoying having her in charge. Abbey pulled him up the stairs and stopped outside his door.

"It's this one, right?'

"Yes it is. Good work."

"I do have an excellent memory," she replied, opening the door and pulling him in. He quickly closed the door behind him and smiled at her. She pulled him over to his bed and lay down on it, pulling him down to lie beside her. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to snuggle into him.

"I like this," she said softly, her words almost obscured with her face buried in Luc's chest.

"Me too."

"I know something you like even more," she said, pulling back and rolling them over so that she could support herself over Lucius. She lowered herself slowly and kissed him softly, teasing him. Luc attempted to deepen the kiss, but Abbey pulled away to maintain her control. Lucius gave up and let her dominate. Abbey deepened the kiss slightly, letting her hands slip under his shirt. Her hands explored his stomach and chest, still kissing him. She pulled her hands out and began to unbutton his shirt. Luc moved his hands to unbutton her shirt, but she pushed them away.

"I'm doing this."

Lucius nodded and allowed her to remain in control. Abbey finished unbuttoning her shirt and threw it onto the floor. She then pulled off her own shirt and pulled the chocolate out of her pocket. She pulled out her wand, tugged the chocolate out of its wrapper and melted it over Luc's chest using her wand. She discarded the wrapper with their shirts on the floor and slowly ran her hands over Lucius' chest and stomach, spreading the chocolate. She reached the waistband of his pants and pulled them off. She grabbed her wand again and muttered a quick spell to keep her hair out of the way. Abbey lowered herself over Luc's chest and began licking and kissing, whilst spreading the chocolate along his arms. Lucius moaned softly as she kissed his neck with lips coated in chocolate. She brought her chocolate-coated fingers to his lips and spread it across them. She then leaned in and kissed him passionately. Lucius kissed her back, glad for a chance to become more involved. She pulled back.

"There's chocolate all over my bra!"

Lucius moved his hands to her back and unclasped the dark purple lace bra, then threw it beside the bed. Abbey lowered her head to kiss him again. Their lips met, the kiss hungry and passionate. Abbey reached up and pulled the hangings closed, the pair now hidden by dark green velvet.


	8. Chapter 8

Abbey pulled away, trying to catch her breath. She noticed a spot of chocolate on Luc's chest and she leaned over to lick it off. Lucius smiled.

"You were right. You definitely hadn't shown me how amazing you can be."

"Even now I think there's still more I can show you. And I know I didn't give you much of an opportunity to show off what you can do."

Lucius smiled. "I think you think a bit too highly of me. I'm not as good as you seem to think I am."

"Oh I think you are. Now, costume ideas. You'll need to look pretty amazing to be seen with me."

"Abbey, we don't even if there is a party for us to go to."

"We'll have to find Andromeda and ask her."

"So what's your costume?"

"I can't ruin the surprise! I'll tell you if any of your ideas would not work with my costume."

"Okay…"

"So? Any ideas?"

"No. Do you have any?"

Abbey looked at him, biting her lip in thought. "Hmm…I'm trying to think of a costume where I will have an excuse to see you without a shirt."

Lucius laughed. "Well think quickly, you probably have head back to your room soon."

"What's the time?"

"Almost 5."

"Well it's almost dinner time. So I think I can stay a little longer and we can go have dinner together."

"I might need a shower before then," Lucius said, gesturing to his torso, which still had remnants of chocolate on it.

"Yeah, me too. And I'm going to have to clean that bra. Pity. It's one of my favourites."

"Yes, I rather like it too."

"I have other ones I think you'd like more."

Lucius blushed and Abbey giggled. "You have so many shades of pink and red."

This made Lucius blushed more, which made Abbey giggle again. She jumped off the bed and grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bed. She walked towards the bathroom and entered, walking to the shower and turning it on. She stood under the shower for a moment, watching Luc who had followed her in and was now standing awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom.

"Aren't you getting in?"

"You want to have a shower together?"

"Well, yeah."

Lucius smiled and got into the shower with her, glad for the warmth of the water. Abbey let her hair down, checking to see if there was any stray chocolate in it.  
"Can you help me wash my hair?" she said, turning her back to him.

"Of course."

"Do you have shampoo and conditioner?"

"Do you think Regulus and I don't wash our hair?"

"Good point, your hair is pretty nice and well cared for."

Lucius smiled and grabbed the shampoo. He squeezed some onto his hand and began to slowly massage it through her long dark hair. Abbey helped him by spreading the shampoo to the front of her hair. After they had finished with the shampoo, Abbey washed it out of her hair quickly and began to apply conditioner. As she did this, Lucius grabbed the bar of soap and began to rub it over her back and shoulders. Abbey finished with the conditioner and turned to allow Luc to wash her chest and stomach. She took the bar of soap and rubbed it along her arms and legs, then washed off the soap and washed the conditioner out of her hair. She smiled at him and stepped out of the water, then turned off the warm water so that Luc was blasted with a stream of cold water. He gasped as the cold water hit him.  
"Merlin that's cold," he said, reaching to turn the hot water on again.

Abbey smiled innocently. "Which towel is yours?" she asked, gesturing at the two hanging on the wall.

"The one on the right," Luc replied, taking the soap and rubbing it over his torso to remove the last of the chocolate. He continued to wash himself as Abbey dried herself with his towel. He washed the soap off and then stood under the warm water, waiting Abbey to finish with his towel. She quickly dried her hair a little and then held the towel out to him. Luc turned off the shower and walked over to take the towel. Abbey handed it to him.

"I'm going to get dressed. I'm going to need a clean bra, so I'll meet you in the common room?"

Lucius nodded and began drying himself. "See you soon."

Abbey walked out of the room and pulled on her clothes, shoving her bra into the pocket of her jeans. She walked out of the room and towards the girls' dorms. Luc finished drying himself quickly and hung the towel on the wall again. He walked out of the bathroom and back in his room, where he picked up his discarded clothes from the floor. He pulled on his underwear and jeans, then grabbed a clean grey shirt and pulled it over his head. He returned to the bathroom and quickly finished drying his short cropped hair. He glanced into the mirror, noticing the bruising again. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the vial of cream. He smeared it on the bruised area and walked out of the bathroom. He slipped the vial into the drawer of his bedside table. He ran his hands threw his hair and pulled on his shoes. He looked at his bed, which was a complete mess and pulled the hangings closed around it. He walked out of the room and made his way to the common room, where Abbey was pacing impatiently.

"About time, I'm hungry."

"Nice to see you too."

Abbey poked his arm. "Shush you. My stomach controls my mouth."

Lucius laughed. "Well we better go get you some food then, huh?"

"My thoughts exactly," Abbey replied with a smile. "The bruising doesn't look so bad now," she added, reaching up to touch Luc's face tenderly.

"Madam Pomfrey gave me a cream for it. I have to apply it twice a day."

"You look wonderful either way. Now, food time."

Lucius wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and they started walking to the Great Hall. The corridors were filled with other students making their way to the Hall for dinner and Luc pulled Abbey closer, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. When they had almost reached the Great Hall, Abbey pointed out the house points to Luc. "Slytherin in the lead, where we belong."

Her comment was fairly loud and earned an array of responses from people around them; whoops from other Slytherins, snorts from Gryffindors, mutters from Ravenclaws, very little from the Hufflepuffs.

Lucius smiled and lowered his head to whisper into her ear. "Controversial comment, beautiful."

"All the best people make them."

They entered the Great Hall and walked down the Slytherin table until they found and available spot, where they slipped in and began to pile food onto their plates. Abbey took a bite of a potato, swallowed and turned to Luc.

"So. Your costume."


	9. Chapter 9

Fifteen minutes before the start of Andromeda's Halloween party, Abbey and Luc stood in front of the mirror in Lucius' room, admiring Abbey's handiwork.

"You've done very well."

"Yes, I think I have. Although I did have a fair bit to work with."

Lucius blushed, making Abbey smile.

"You need to stop doing that every time I compliment you."

Lucius nodded. "I know."

"I have to say, you make a great vampire."

"And you make a wonderful devil. It's very fitting."

"I can't help that I'm an evil genius."

"I think the genius part is questionable," Lucius said, with a mischievous grin.

"Watch your step, Malfoy. I don't want to have to change my mind about letting you be my date."

Lucius held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win!"

Abbey smiled, pleased. "I've taught you so well."

"Don't make me tickle you."

"You don't scare me."

"Oh don't I?" Lucius said, edging closer.

"No. I know your weak point now."

"My weak point?"

"Yes."

"Which is?"

Abbey reached up to kiss him, only just reaching his height on her tiptoes. Lucius leaned down to meet her kiss and Abbey turned away, so that his lips hit her cheek.

"See? Weak point."

"That's just evil."

"I know," she replied, with a grin. "Now let's get going. We don't want to be late for the party."

Lucius nodded and they made their way down into the almost deserted common room and out into the corridor. Abbey took Lucius' hand and began to lead him towards the classroom that Andromeda had arranged for the party to be held in. When they walked into the classroom, they stopped in the doorway, admiring the wonderful decorations. Andromeda came rushing over to them, smiling.

"Lucius! I didn't think you'd end up coming. I know how much you love socialising."

Lucius smiled. "Abbey convinced me to. She was going to come either way, and I couldn't have someone else stealing her."

"The decorations are amazing!" Abbey said, looking around the room.

"Thanks!" Andromeda replied. "The drinks are over there," she said, pointing to a table on the other side of the room. "And Lucius? Make sure you talk to people. Interact. That's a good boy."

"Did you say something to her?" Lucius asked Abbey as they walked over to the table to get drinks.

"I'm not the only person who thinks you're antisocial."

"Good point."

They walked to the drinks table, admiring the floating pumpkins and candles and the black mist that covered the floor. The walls had been draped with midnight blue velvet, which seemed to be sparkling with thousands of tiny silver stars. They reached the table, admiring it as well. The table was also draped in fabric, dark purple with tiny gold stars. The table was covered in drinks: Butterbeer, Firewhiskey and many others that Lucius had never heard of, but assumed must be muggle beverages. Abbey grabbed a bottle of Firewhiskey and filled two glasses about three quarters full with it, then added a small amount of a beverage labelled vodka. She handed one of the glasses to Luc and he looked at it apprehensively.

"I like Firewhiskey, but what is this other stuff?"

"Trust me, you'll like it."

Lucius took a small sip, cautiously. Abbey took a large sip from her glass.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do, actually," he replied, taking another sip.

"I told you so."

"Is this what you do with your time? Make all sorts of special mixed drinks?"

"Sometimes, yeah. You'll have to taste some of the other ones. This isn't the best one."

"What is the best one?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Mr Malfoy. You haven't even finished your first drink yet!"

"Yeah…I probably shouldn't drink too much. I've never been great at dealing with alcohol."

Abbey laughed. "You're so adorable. You can't even drink a lot."

"I don't think it's a good thing, Abbey."

"Of course it is, it's adorable!"

"But it's not fun."

"That is true…but it's still adorable and I still love it. Plus, maybe with some practise you'll get better. So drink up."

Lucius smiled. "Don't let me get too drunk, I do and say stupid things when I'm drunk."

"Then how am I supposed to resist? If I get you drunk, you'll say stupid stuff which I can use against you! You shouldn't have told me that."

"You're evil."

"Geez, you keep getting it wrong. Evil _genius_. Not just plain evil."

"It's the same thing," Lucius replied, taking a large sip of his drink.

"No, if I'm just evil there's no thought involved. But if I'm an evil genius, there's a lot of thought that goes into everything I do."

"That makes you even more evil."

"Exactly," Abbey replied, draining the last of her drink. She returned to the drink table and made herself another drink, this time Butterbeer, mixed with a small amount of another muggle beverage called tequila. "You have to finish that drink before you get another one."

"Yes, I know."

"Good. I can handle alcohol. Unlike some other people…"

"No need to rub it in."

"Are you kidding? There's every need to rub it in! I love embarrassing you."

"I've noticed that."

Abbey poked her tongue out. "So I didn't get to hear exactly what you think of my outfit…"

"Can we not talk about that?"

"Why on earth not?"

"Because you look so sexy. You have no idea how hard I'm having to work to control myself."

"Oh really now?" Abbey said, edging closer.

"Yes."

Abbey wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. "If you behave, you might be rewarded later," she said, and then released him, watching him with amused eyes.

Lucius glared at her. "You're such a tease."

"Oh yes. I know I am."

Lucius took another sip of his drink, looking around the room. He admired the decorations and the costumes of other people there. It was hard to identify some people due to their costumes and makeup. As he glanced around the room, he spotted Regulus. Reg was closer to the door, engaged in conversation with Andromeda. Lucius couldn't quite see Reg's costume and he turned back to Abbey before Regulus turned and spotted him. He drained the last of his drink as Abbey finished hers. Abbey looked up at him for a moment, then grabbed his hand.

"Come on. Let's dance," she said, gesturing to where a large group of people were dancing.

Lucius, grateful for the distraction, didn't protest and followed her.


	10. Chapter 10

An hour later, Lucius and Abbey walked away from the group of dancers, exhausted, to get some drinks.

"You lied," Abbey said.

"I lied?"

"Yes. When we first when out there, you said you were a hopeless dancer. You're actually not too bad."

"Oh. Thank you."

They returned to the drinks table and Abbey prepared her Butterbeer and tequila creation for both of them. She handed Luc his and took a sip of her own. Lucius took a cautious sip.

"Do you like it?" Abbey asked.

"Yeah, I do. You're good at this."

Abbey smiled. "I'm glad you think so. I'm still disappointed that I couldn't think of a costume which would mean you didn't have to wear a shirt."

Lucius laughed. "I like this one."

"Well you're definitely getting attention from the other girls. I'm a little jealous."

"No reason to be."

"Yeah, they're all looking at you like they'd do anything to get into your pants."

"Too bad. I have a girlfriend. Who I love. They've got no chance."

"She's a lucky one, that girlfriend of yours."

"No," Luc replied, pulling her into an embrace, "I'm the lucky one."

"Yes you are, she is pretty amazing."

"Yeah, and she looks wonderful tonight."

Abbey reached up to kiss him and he lowered his head to meet her lips. The kiss started soft and cautious but Lucius quickly deepened it, running his hands over her arms and back. Abbey played with the hem of his shirt and then slipped her hands underneath it, exploring his stomach and chest. Lucius slowly moved on of his hands up her back until it rested at the back of her head, where it became tangled in her long, dark hair.

"Get a room!" someone yelled at them and they suddenly broke apart, having forgotten they were in a crowded room. Lucius looked around, embarrassed and Andromeda caught his eye from the other side of the room and winked. "Good work," she mouthed. Lucius shifted his gaze from her to the person standing next to her and saw Regulus, his face dark with anger and hatred. Lucius looked down at his feet.

"Hey, that's Regulus next to Andromeda, right?" Abbey asked from beside him.

"Yes it is. Why?"

"I'd like to go talk to him about punching my boyfriend."

"That's really not necessary."

"Yes it is."

"It really isn't."

"He punched you! I'm going to talk to him, whether you come with me or not."

Lucius sighed. "Fine, I'll come."

"Good," Abbey replied, taking Lucius' hand and leading him over to where Andromeda and Regulus stood. He hoped that Regulus would leave, but he didn't. Regulus watched them walk over, his eyes growing more and more angry. When they reached the pair, Andromeda smiled.

"Enjoying yourselves?" she asked.

"Yes, it's a great party," Lucius replied with a smile.

"I wasn't talking about that."

This comment made Lucius blush and Abbey giggle.

"He was enjoying himself," Abbey replied. "I know he was."

"How?" Andromeda asked.

"I think you know," she said with a wink.

"Hey, I'm still here," Lucius said, blushing deeply.

Andromeda and Abbey laughed. Regulus continued to stare at Luc with utter loathing in his eyes.

"So why did you come over? I thought you'd be going off to have some fun by the way the pair of you were carrying on over there."

"We're on our way," Abbey replied. "But firstly I wanted to talk to Regulus."

"We have nothing to talk about," Regulus said softly but firmly.

"Yes we do. You punched my boyfriend. I'd like to know why."

"He slept with you. In my room."

"Lucius is perfectly able to make his own decisions. Plus, we were in his bed."

"And I bet you've been back there since."

"Actually, yes. We have."

Regulus looked like he was about to punch Luc again.

"Well I don't want you to do it in my room again."

"Why not?"

"Because it's my room too. I don't want things like that happening in my room."

"Just because you don't have anyone who is prepared to do that to you, doesn't mean you have to stop Lucius if he can find someone who cares about him."

Lucius grabbed Abbey's hand. "Don't, Abbey," he whispered into her ear. "I don't want him to hurt you."

Regulus clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. He glared at her.

"Keep your pet on a shorter leash, Malfoy."

Andromeda watched the interactions, confused.

"Reg, aren't you overreacting just a little bit?" she asked, softly.

"No. I think I've had enough of this party. I'll leave you two to make out all you want. But when you come back to my room," he directed at Lucius, "I want you to be alone."

He then stormed away and out of the room.

"Well that was interesting," Andromeda said, breaking the silence.

Abbey grabbed Luc's wrist and checked his watch. "It's probably time for us to go too."

"Oh…off to have some fun?"

Abbey grinned. "Possibly. We wouldn't want to offend your guests."

Andromeda laughed. "Enjoy yourselves. I'm sure I'll be here for a while longer."

"Thank you, it was a great party!" Lucius said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," she replied with a smile.

Abbey took Luc's handed and pulled him towards the door. They walked out of the room and stopped outside the door.

"So since we can't go back to either of our rooms, where are we going to go?" Lucius asked.

"I think I have an idea," she replied, taking his hand and pulling him along with her. Lucius followed her until she stopped outside a deserted classroom.

"I think this will do," she said.

"We'll have to wait and see," he replied. Abbey wrapped her arms around his waist and he lowered his head to kiss her. He met the kiss and immediately took control. He turned them around and pushed Abbey against the wall. Abbey wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Lucius held her thighs to keep her up. He began to move his kisses from her mouth and down her neck. Abbey moaned softly and began to grind her body against his. Lucius pulled her away from the wall, returning his lips to hers. He reached for the handle of the classroom door and opened it. Abbey jumped out of his arms and pulled him towards one of the desks.

"Hold on," he said, gesturing at the open door. "Privacy."

He walked back a few steps and pushed the door closed.


	11. Chapter 11

_Lucius walked into the room and closed the door behind him. His eyes widened as he saw Regulus standing in front of him, shirtless. _

_"Hello, Lucius," he said seductively. _

_"Regulus," he replied cautiously. _

_"Come here," Regulus said, beckoning Luc closer. _

_Lucius walked over to him slowly. Regulus walked forward to meet him. Reg slowly snaked his arms around Lucius' waist and pulled him closer. He slipped his hands under the back of Luc's top and pulled it off. He threw the shirt across the room and placed a soft kiss on Lucius' neck. Lucius shuddered at the touch and Regulus bit down, wanting more of a reaction. Lucius moaned softly and arched his neck. Regulus pulled back._

_"You like that do you?"_

_"Yes…yes…"_

_Regulus laughed softly and brought his lips to Luc's. He kissed him passionately and Luc returned the kiss with equal passion. Lucius ran his hands down Reg's arms and along his chest, admiring the muscles that lay there. Regulus pressed his hands against Luc's stomach and moved his thumbs in small circles on the sensitive skin. Lucius pulled back from the kiss to catch his breath. _

_"Giving up so soon?" Regulus asked._

_Lucius replied by leaning back in and kissing Regulus passionately. Regulus took the opportunity and slowly slipped his hands into Luc's pants. Lucius moaned loudly and Regulus grinned wickedly, glad to be having such an effect. _

A slamming door pulled Lucius from his dream. He had a slight headache, but could still remember what had happened the previous night. His cheeks flushed as the dream filled his mind. He looked over at Regulus' bed and saw that the hangings were open and that it was empty. He breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the shower started and Lucius realised that the slamming door must have been their bathroom. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He stretched and reached over to the drawer of his bedside table to apply the cream to his bruises. He sat in the bed, trying to work out what the dream meant. It was just a dream, wasn't it? He felt so confused. He loved Abbey. But he had a dream about Reg. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't tell Regulus, he hated him enough already. And Abbey…well Abbey would break up with him and hate him forever. Should he tell her what had happened with Regulus and why he was so angry? Would that ruin everything? Lucius put his head in his hands, his head pounding as the headache grew worse. He heard the shower turn off and looked up, wondering if he had enough time to get out of the room before Regulus appeared. He looked around the room, trying to calculate how long it would take him to get dressed and head to class. Before he had a chance, Regulus walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. The scene was so similar to his dream and Lucius flushed darkly. Regulus glared at him.

"Were you dreaming about your slut?"

"What?"

"Well surely only she would get that reaction from you."

Lucius looked down and blushed at what he saw. Regulus shook his head.

"Deal with that. Clean the sheets."

Lucius blushed darker. "Right. Yeah." He got out of the bed, grabbed his wand and cleaned the sheets with a quick wave. He grabbed his robes and walked to the bathroom to shower. He dumped his clothes on the floor, pulled off his pyjamas and climbed into the shower, turning it on quickly due to the cold. He loved this time of year, the snow, the colours, the atmosphere. The grounds were always their most beautiful in autumn and winter and usually there weren't many other students prepared to brave the cold. But sometimes the rooms were a little too cold in the morning for his liking. He showered quickly, wanting to get away from Regulus as soon as he could. He stood under the hot water, letting it stream down his body. Thoughts raced around his mind. He had never been more confused. He wasn't supposed to be having these thoughts about Regulus. He turned off the shower. "I need to tell Abbey," he whispered, grabbing his towel. He knew he couldn't hide it for much longer. He sighed and quickly dried himself. He hung the towel on the wall again and pulled on his robes. He looked into the mirror and sighed. After the previous night, he looked quite tired, but the bruising had faded quite a lot. He sighed again and grabbed the door handle, hoping that Reg had left for classes. He stared at the wood for a moment, before opening the door and returning to the room. He froze as he took in the scene. Regulus was slumped against the edge of his bed, eyes closed. Fear gripped Lucius as he slowly walked closer. He knelt down to Reg's height.

"Regulus?" he said, shaking his friend.

Regulus didn't move and his breath was short, almost as though he was gasping for air. Lucius didn't have time to consider what had happened. His main concern was getting Regulus to the Hospital Wing. He wrapped his arms around Regulus' limp body and heaved him off the floor. Regulus was fairly heavy, due to his build, but lighter than Lucius had expected him to be. Still, he would have liked some assistance. He supported as much of Regulus' weight as he could and began to half carry, half drag him out of the room. He stopped when he reached the common room, to catch his breath and attempt to wake Reg again. Regulus breathing seemed even more laboured than it had been only minutes earlier. Lucius checked his watch and saw that classes would have already started. He was grateful that he and Regulus would not get much attention, but knew that he wouldn't be able to get assistance from another student. He changed his hold on Reg slightly as to support him more and then continued through and out of the common room. He turned left as he exited the common room and began to make his way slowly towards the Hospital Wing. He stopped often to reposition his arms and to catch his breath. He silently cursed have a common room in the dungeons, it meant so many stairs. He finally turned the last corner to the Hospital Wing and picked up his pace a little. Lucius reached the door and elbowed it open. He dragged Regulus over to one of the beds and heaved him onto it. Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office and her eyes widened when she saw Regulus.

"Oh my. What happened, Mr Malfoy?"

"I don't know. I was having a shower and when I came out he was lying unconscious on the floor."

"Oh dear," she replied. She placed one hand on his forehead and bustled away to retrieve potions from her shelves. She grabbed a few and brought them over, placing them on the table beside Regulus' bed.

"Will he be alright?"

"I think you got to him in time. But I can't be sure until I've seen how he reacts to these potions."

Lucius sat down beside Regulus' bed as Madam Pomfrey administered the potions.  
"You may stay with him, Mr Malfoy. I will check on him later."

"Thank you," Lucius replied, looking up from his hands.

She smiled, slightly sadly, and returned to her office. Lucius watched Regulus carefully, trying to see if there were any signs of discomfort, but Regulus looked entirely peaceful, besides the fact that he was lying in a hospital bed. Regulus murmured something softly and Lucius leaned closer, trying to work out what he was saying.

"Lu…"

Lucius froze.

"Lu…Lu…Luc…Lucius…"

"Regulus ?"

Regulus stirred, his head rolling slightly to one side. "Lucius…" he mumbled softly again. Lucius blinked, willing the tears away. He looked down at his hands again.

"Lucius?"

His head snapped up. "Reg. You're awake."

"Where am I?"

"You're…you're in the Hospital Wing."

"What happened?"

"Well I was hoping you could tell me that. You don't remember?"

"No…the last thing I remember is getting out of the shower."

"Oh. Right."

"You were having an interesting dream before I had my shower."

Lucius blushed. "I was hoping you would have forgotten about that. Do you want me to leave?"

"Stay. Please."

Lucius nodded. "Of course I will."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. Despite everything, you're still my best friend."

Regulus didn't reply. He attempted to sit up but Lucius grabbed his hand.

"You're still weak. What do you want?"

"Water," Regulus whispered.

Lucius nodded and stood up. He grabbed the jug from the table beside the bed and poured some into a glass. He placed it on the table, helped Reg sit up and handed it to him. Regulus drained the glass in one go and handed the glass back to Luc, coughing.

"Not so fast," Lucius said. "More?"

Regulus nodded. "Please."

Lucius poured Regulus another glass of water and handed it to Reg. Regulus took it and smiled slightly. He took a small sip of the water and handed it back to Luc.

"You don't want anymore?"

"Not right now…" Regulus replied weakly, his eyes slowly fluttering closed. "You'll stay with me?"

"Yes. Of course I will."

Regulus smiled weakly. "Thank you."

Once he knew Regulus was asleep, Lucius grabbed his hand and softly pressed his lips to it. "I love you," he whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

Five hours later, Lucius still sat next to Regulus' bed, with strict instructions to call Madam Pomfrey when he woke. He had pulled off his robe and loosened his tie, but had refused to leave Regulus to change. He looked down at his watch and realised that classes would have just ended. He wondered if Abbey was worried about him, but pushed that thought from his mind. His gaze returned to the still figure in the bed beside him. Regulus' cheeks had gained some colour, but were still more pale than usual. Madam Pomfrey was yet to make an assessment as to what had happened, because she wanted Regulus to be awake when she did it. Lucius was worried. Try as he might, he could not imagine any possible explanation that would mean good news. Lucius looked up at the sound of feet, hoping that they belonged to Abbey. He was disappointed when he saw that they belonged to a Hufflepuff with a wide smile and a dreamy look in her eyes. He looked around, wondering if she was coming to visit someone, but he and Regulus were the only ones in the room. She must be there to get something from Madam Pomfrey, he decided. But the Hufflepuff approached him, her smile wavering slightly as she saw Regulus.

"Oh dear. Is he okay?"

"Umm…we're not sure yet…"

"Well he looks peaceful."

"Umm…yes…sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Eleanor."

"Lucius. Why are you here? Do you know Regulus?"

"No, I come and visit people in the Hospital Wing if they don't have anyone else. No one likes to be alone, especially when they're sick. I usually bring some books to read to them."

"Oh. That's very nice of you."

Eleanor smiled. "I'm glad you think so. Do you mind if I stay even though you're here?"

"No, of course not. It'd be nice to have someone to keep me company."

Eleanor smiled again. "Thank you. I can read to him if you like?"

"Thanks. I think he'd like that."

Eleanor pulled a book out of her bag as the door to the Hospital Wing flew open.

"Lucius! Here you are!"

Lucius looked over. "Abbey," he said, standing up.

Abbey ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Don't you ever do that again. I was so worried about you!"

Lucius hugged her tight. "I'm sorry. Regulus fainted…well at least we think he did. He's sleeping now, but I said I'd stay with him."

"And who's the Hufflepuff?"

"Eleanor. She said that she visits people in the Hospital Wing to read to them and keep them company."

"And you're letting her stay?"

"Well…yeah. I'm sure it'd be nice for Regulus to have someone else here."

"I'm sure he wouldn't want me here."

"I want you here. But you can leave if you want to."

"No, I'll stay with you."

"Thank you."

Abbey smiled. "There's no need to thank me."

Lucius grabbed a chair and pulled it over to his chair. Abbey sat down and Eleanor smiled at her. Lucius checked his watch.

"I'm going to go have some dinner quickly. I'll be back soon."

"I can come with you…" Abbey said.

"No, stay here. You two can get some later."

Abbey jumped up and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Thank you, Eleanor."

Eleanor smiled again. "That's fine."

Lucius smiled and made his way through the Hospital Wing and towards the Great Hall, hoping that Abbey would behave herself.

Abbey looked away from the bed to Eleanor.

"Do you mind if I read to him?" Eleanor asked.

Abbey shook her head. "Do what you like. What are you going to read?"

"I was thinking _Tales of Beedle the Bard_. I'm not sure if he's heard it before, but even if he has my grandmother says it's very soothing to have someone read to you. Especially something that isn't too fast. He does look very peaceful though."

"Hmmm. I suppose he does," Abbey replied, returning her gaze to Regulus. She sighed softly. She had only come to the Hospital Wing after searching every other possible place she could think of. She had been so worried that something was wrong and she saw that Lucius was fine, she was relieved. But she couldn't understand why Lucius would have spent all day by the bed of someone who had punched him. She let her thoughts wander as the Hufflepuff began to read to Regulus. She was worried about Lucius. Even he was physically alright, surely there had to be some reason that he had spent hours sitting next to an unconscious person who hated him without reason. She had to talk to him. She should have refused to stay. She should have taken the opportunity to talk to him. Lucius could only have wanted her not to come because he wanted time to think by himself. But about what? Why did he need that time? Abbey began to grow more and more worried. She stood and began pacing at the end of Regulus' bed. Eleanor looked up for a moment to see what she was doing, but returned to the book without questioning her. She was close to storming out of the Hospital Wing to find Lucius, when Regulus began to mumble and stir. She stopped pacing and stood at the end of the bed watching him. His eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Lucius? Where's Lucius?" he said, looking around. "Who's the Hufflepuff? And why is the slut here?"

Abbey clenched her fists, only thoughts of Lucius keeping her from punching him.

"I'm Eleanor Branstone. Lucius is getting some food, he'll be back soon. And it's not nice to call people things like that. You should be nice to Abbey."

Regulus stared at the girl, shocked. Abbey looked away as the doors opened and Lucius came in. Lucius immediately noticed that Regulus was awake and raced over to the bed.

"Sorry, Reg. I needed some food. Do you want some water?"

Regulus nodded. "Thanks."

Lucius poured water from the jug into the glass and turned to Abbey. "Can you get Madam Pomfrey? She said she wanted to be told when he woke up."

Abbey nodded and walked quickly to her office. Lucius helped Regulus sit up and handed him the glass. He turned to Eleanor.

"Thank you for staying with him. Did you read to him?"

"Yes. I could come back again tomorrow…"

"Would you like that, Regulus?"

Regulus stared at him. "You know her?"

"I only met her today. Eleanor comes to Hospital Wing to read to patients and keep them company. She came to read to you."

"Oh. Thank you."

Eleanor smiled. "I enjoy it."

Lucius watched the pair, smiling slightly. Regulus looked over at him.

"Are you going to get some sleep?"

"I…I don't want to leave you."

"Lucius, you need your sleep. You can't just stay here all night. And you can't skip all of your classes again."

"But…"

"Lucius, please."

"At least let me stay for a little longer."

Regulus sighed. "Fine."

"I'll stay until Eleanor and Abbey have had dinner.

"Excuse me, Mr Malfoy. I need to check on Mr Black."

Lucius moved away from the bed and watched as Madam Pomfrey inspected Regulus and asked continuous questions. She administered some more potions and turned to return to her office. She placed a hand on Lucius' arm.

"You will go back to your dorm tonight, won't you Mr Malfoy?"

Lucius nodded.

"Good," she said, before returning to her office.

"You two should go have some dinner."

"And then go to bed," Regulus added.

"I'll come back to get you so we can walk back to the common room," Abbey directed at Luc. He nodded quickly and returned to his post beside Reg's bed. Abbey watched them for a moment, still wondering what was going on with Lucius. She sighed softly and shook her head, then followed Eleanor out of the Hospital Wing. Lucius stared at his hands, unsure of what to say.

"You said that you didn't want anything to come between our friendship."

Lucius looked up. "Yes…"

"Then why did you start dating her? I thought you were the one who would never leave me."

"I haven't left you. You're still my best friend."

"I thought you wanted to fight for us. I didn't think you'd be the one to give up on us ever having something more."

"I haven't given up!"

"Have you told your girlfriend that? Does she know that you're just using her so that you're not alone?"

"Abbey means so much more to me than that!"

Regulus didn't reply and Lucius returned his gaze to his hands. They both had tears in their eyes which they were desperately trying to hold back.

"Does she know about us?" Regulus whispered, barely audible.

"Not yet."

"Are you planning to tell her?"

"Yes."

Regulus was surprised by this response. "Don't you think that means she'll break up with you?"

"Yes. But I have to tell her the truth."

"And do you still have feelings for me?"

"Reg…"

"Answer the question."

"Yes."

"So she is just a place filler. She's just there for your entertainment, while you're hoping that we can get back together at some point in the future."

"Is it entirely impossible to have feelings for two people at once?"

"It's impossible to be entirely committed to two relationships at once."

Lucius looked up and stared at Regulus, with no idea of how to reply.

"I…"

Regulus laughed bitterly. "You're not prepared to risk it, are you? You're not ready to wait. You want a relationship and you want it now."

Lucius could barely contain the tears and focused his gaze on a spot on the wall behind Reg's head, concentrating on keeping his breathing level and controlling the tears. Neither of them said anything for another ten minutes. Lucius finally looked at Regulus, looking as though he was about to say something important.

"I…we….Abbey….water?"

"What?"

"Do you want more water?"

"Oh….ahh…yes please."

Lucius busied himself with pouring the water and handed it to Reg. Regulus slowly drained the glass and handed it back to Lucius.

"Would you like me to help you lie down?"

Regulus nodded and Lucius helped him lower himself and rearranged his pillows.

"Thank you," Regulus said.

"You look tired."

"Yeah…I feel tired. I think I'm going to try to sleep."

Lucius nodded. "Alright. I'll stay with you until Abbey gets back."

Regulus nodded weakly as his eyes began to flutter closed. His breathing had just become heavy when Abbey walked in. Lucius pressed one finger to his lips and beckoned her over.

"Is he sleeping?" she whispered.

Lucius nodded.

"Good. Can I talk to you?"

"Of course. Is here the best place?"

Abbey nodded. "I don't want anyone to overhear."

"You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

"Well I wanted to ask you that. Why have you spent all day by the bed of someone who punched you for sleeping with a girl? And why did he get so angry? Andromeda was right. He was overreacting. It's not that big of a deal. There must be a reason."

Lucius sighed. "I guess I've found the perfect opportunity to tell you. I just didn't think it would come so soon."

"Tell me what?"

"Sit down," Lucius said, gesturing to the chair beside him. Once Abbey was seated, he resumed. "There is something rather important that I have to tell you. Not long before you asked me out, Regulus and I were sort of secretly dating. Narcissa noticed that we were being…a little more than friendly and she wrote to our parents, who then wrote to us telling us we had to end it. Regulus and I had agreed that we would just stay friends for now, until we left school and then we could reassess the situation."

"So you agreed to go out with me simply because you were upset and you needed someone to comfort you?"

"No, Abbey, of course not!"

"Really? Because that's exactly what it sounds like."

"I promise it's not!"

Abbey looked away from him, tears in her eyes. "I'm going to need some time to think about this."

"But…"

"Lucius, please. This is big! I need some time alone to think about it!"

Lucius began to cry. "I'm so sorry, Abbey. I really am."

Abbey stood up and walked out of the Hospital Wing, tears streaming down her face. Lucius remained beside the bed for a moment longer, wanting to give her enough time to have returned to her dorm, before following her, entirely unaware that Regulus had heard every single word.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **I'd just like to give a quick shout out to my one follower TheOrangeAlien. It means a lot to me that someone who I am not forcing to read it actually is reading it. My friends will vouch for that, I was so excited when I saw I had a follower :P. I love you and you are awesome 3  
Also, to Yin for dealing with my crap. I love you 3

Dexter stretched and wandered around the room, wanting to find Reg. She jumped up onto his bed, disappointed when she found it empty. She returned to the floor and jumped up onto Luc's. She pushed her face against his arm, trying to wake him. When that failed, she began clawing at his arm. His eyes opened and he rubbed them, confused.

"What's up, Dex?"

She jumped down from his bed and onto Regulus' again.

"You want to see Reg. I can take you to him. Just let me get changed." Lucius grabbed his robes and quickly tugged of his pyjamas and pulled on his robes. He grabbed his shoes and socks and pulled them on. He walked over to Regulus' bed and attempted to pick Dexter up. She edged away from him. He sighed. He knew that Dexter rarely behaved for anyone who wasn't Reg.

"Dex, I can't take you to see him if you don't let me."

Dexter continued to look up at him expectantly. Lucius sighed again.

"Follow me, then."

Lucius turned to walk to the door and Dexter hopped down from the bed to follow him. He paused to grab his bag and continued out of the room. Dexter followed him, a little way behind. Lucius looked back and she froze, watching him with wide, green eyes. Lucius smiled slightly, used to the behaviour. He continued down the stairs, occasionally looking back to check if Dexter was still following. Every time he did, Dexter froze and stared at him expectantly, her dark eyes asking him why he had stopped. They continued this dance, Dexter always remaining the same distance behind him on the cool stone floor, until they reached the Hospital Wing. Dexter streaked through the small gap in the slightly opened doors. Lucius didn't know what made him pause, but he was glad of it when he heard raised voices from inside the classroom.

"…lying in this bed making him feel guilty when he never did anything wrong!"

"Has he even told you what happened?"

Lucius recognised both voices immediately and felt his heart sinking in his chest.

"Yes! And I know he feels that he has to be kind to you because you're making him feel guilty about what happened between you two."

"What would you know about Lucius and what he's thinking?"

"I am his girlfriend."

"You haven't been going out for very long."

"And I love him! He means a lot to me and I hate seeing him hurt."

"Abigail, I don't think you understand what love is. You've been going out for…what, one week? Two at the most. You can't love someone that quickly."

"You're only doing this because you still love him!"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't I?"

"I stopped loving Lucius the second he starting sleeping with the first girl he could find after we agreed to take some time apart. You may care a lot about him, but surely you have to question how much you mean to him. I would say you're not anything more than free sex to him."

"I know that I mean more to him than that."

"How on earth would you know that?"

"Because he told me that he loves me. And I trust him, so I believe him."

"And yet he didn't tell you about us from the start."

Lucius waited for Abbey's reply, expecting a witty, cutting remark like all of her others so far. But there was only silence. Regulus laughed bitterly.

"What, you can't explain that? Maybe you should start questioning your relationship."

Lucius heard a murmured reply that he couldn't make out.

"For the last time, I don't love him anymore!"

Lucius pushed the doors open and walked into the Hospital Wing. Dexter looked around from where she stood frozen just inside the door. Regulus and Abbey both looked over. Abbey's face softened when she saw him and Regulus' grew more angry and hateful. Lucius walked slowly over to Reg's bed and Dexter followed hesitantly. Dexter jumped up onto Reg's bed and nudged his arm questioningly. The cat looked up at him, the wide eyes asking him why he was there and why he was shouting at Abbey. Dexter had immediately recognised her as the girl who had been spending all that time with Lucius, from the woody scent of her perfume. Regulus pulled her into his arms.

"Hey Dex. You've come to visit me? Sorry, I'm a bit sick. But it's nice to see you again," he murmured, smiling.

Abbey walked closer to Lucius and slipped her hand into his. She squeezed it reassuringly and Lucius closed his eyes, feeling a tear slowly sliding down his cheek. Abbey took another step so that her body was almost pressed against his back. Lucius opened his eyes to look at Regulus, who was stroking Dexter's midnight black fur and whispering to the cat, a small smile brightening his features. He looked up and Dexter did the same, both sets of eyes, one dark brown and one green trained on Lucius and Abbey.

"What are you still doing here? I thought I made it clear I didn't want you here."

Abbey's anger resurfaced and her cheeks grew pink. "Lucius has done a lot for you. This is really no way to repay him."

"What has he done for me?"

"He brought you here, made sure you were looked after…and now you're just making him feel guilty when he has nothing to feel guilty for."

Lucius turned to face her and softly placed a hand on her arm. "Abbey, he's not making me feel guilty. I promise."

Abbey looked into his eyes, holding his gaze for a minute, before nodding. "Do you want to talk to him?" she said softly.

"Yes, please."

Abbey nodded again. "Okay. Don't be too long. You shouldn't miss any more class. But you've still got a while until class starts. I'll save you a seat in Charms."

"Thank you," Lucius replied, leaning in and softly kissing her cheek. He pulled away slightly. "I love you," he whispered, his lips brushing her earlobe.

"I love you too," Abbey breathed. She smiled and placed one hand affectionately on his cheek, before turning and walking out of the Hospital Wing. Lucius turned back to face Regulus, who was watching him intently.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

Regulus' nod was barely perceptible and Lucius sat down on the edge of the chair cautiously.

"You are still my best friend, Reg."

"I hate you."

Lucius stared down at his hands.

Regulus continued. "I loved you. I trusted you. I let you in. And now you're with her. And it's all for the sex. I'm sure it was exactly the same with me."

"That's not true! I care about both of you!"

"Not enough to stick by me."

"Regulus, you broke up with me!"

"Well I'm sorry that I didn't predict that you fall into the arms of the first girl to bat her eyelashes at you."

"Abbey didn't seduce me into dating her."

"Really? I find that hard to believe, especially if you care for me as much as you say you do."

"Regulus…"

"Lucius, us being friends could have worked if you hadn't been seduced by the first girl who came along and if you had shown at least some respect for what we had and what we could have had in the future."

"So we can't have anything now? Not even friendship?"

"Right now, I can't stand the sight of you. Maybe that will change, but somehow I doubt it."

"So you don't want me to come and visit you anymore?"

"No."

"What about Eleanor?"

"If she wants to visit, then she is welcome to."

"And when you get better?"

"I may change my mind, but I think I'll talk to Professor Slughorn about changing rooms."

"I can change rooms. You shouldn't have to."

"We can discuss it with Slughorn when the time comes."

"Right, okay." Lucius stood up. "I am truly sorry, Regulus. I never wanted to lose our friendship and I wouldn't have done it if I had known this would be the outcome. I…I still love you…"

Regulus looked ready to slap him. "Don't you dare say those words to me. They mean nothing coming out of your mouth."

The words stung Lucius. Regulus may as well have slapped him.

"I was stupid to ever love you. It's clear that you never really cared for me as you said you did."

Lucius held up a hand to stop him. "I've heard enough. I understand. You hate me."

"You bet I do."

Tears pricked at Lucius' eyes once again. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Regulus ignored him and returned to whispering to and stroking Dexter. Lucius turned away and walked to the door. Dexter watched him leave, her eyes unblinking. Lucius left and she looked up at Regulus again, her look begging an explanation.

"Dexter…"

She nudged his arm.

"Fine. I'll tell you."

Dexter rubbed her face on his arm and curled up in his lap, purring contentedly. "You're such a suck up. Well, I'm not sure if you noticed, but a little while ago, things changed between Lucius and me. I realised that I was in love with him."


	14. Chapter 14

Regulus lay sleeping in his bed; Dexter curled up on the pillow next to his head. Eleanor closed the doors of the Hospital Wing softly behind her and walked quietly over to Regulus' bed. Dexter raised her head from the pillow and looked over at her suspiciously. Eleanor sat down next to Reg's bed and slowly, carefully extended her hand to pat Dexter. Dexter pulled her head away and Eleanor dropped her hand. Regulus stirred slightly, his lips moving ever so slightly, as though he was whispering something. Eleanor poured herself a glass of water from the jug beside his bed. She pulled a book out of her bag and opened it.

"I'm going to read to you, Regulus," she said softly. She cleared her throat and began to read. She paused occasionally to see if Regulus had woken. After ten minutes, when Eleanor had read two chapters of the book, Regulus stirred and opened his eyes slowly. Eleanor closed the book, using a piece of parchment to mark her page.

"Hello, Regulus," she said smiling.

"You're here again."

"Of course I am."

"Why?"

"Because I want to keep you company."

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"Why?"

"Because I enjoy it."

"I'm not very good company."

"You're sick, you don't have to be."

"I'm never good company."

"I doubt that."

"You shouldn't."

"Lucius likes your company."

"Don't mention him to me."

"Why not?"

"I hate him."

"Lucius cares about you."

"No, he cares about Abbey."

"Can't he care about both of you?"

Regulus stared at her, clearly surprised that she was standing up to him. "You don't act like I thought Hufflepuffs would…"

"How did you think Hufflepuffs would behave?"

"I don't know…but I thought you'd be more scared of me."

"Because you're a Slytherin?"

"Umm….well…."

Eleanor laughed. "At the moment, you're not incredibly scary."

Regulus looked down and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Well I hope you're not planning to use that to your advantage."

Eleanor grinned. "You're the Slytherin here. I'm the lovely one."

Regulus' smile grew wider and his eyes grew brighter.  
"Does your cat always refuse to be patted?"

"I'm her favourite person. Generally, she doesn't let anyone else touch her."

"What if you say that it is okay?"

"She'll listen."

"Well can I pat her?"

Regulus smiled. "Sure. She has to see that I trust you before she'll let you though."

"How can you show her that?"

"Well if I hug you…is that okay?"

Eleanor smiled. "You don't have to ask. Of course it's okay."

Regulus blushed slightly. "I don't generally hug people," he said softly.

"Why not?"

"I guess I don't have many people to hug."

"Not even Lucius?"

Regulus clenched his fists. "No. I don't hug Lucius."

Eleanor studied his face carefully. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I just don't want to talk about Lucius."

"Alright. Can I pat Dexter now?"

"Yeah."

"So are you going to hug me?"

"Yes," Regulus replied, slowly sitting up and leaning towards her. Eleanor leaned closer, smiling reassuringly at him. Regulus slowly reached out to her and wrapped his arms around her body. Eleanor rested her head softly on his shoulder, smiling. Regulus relaxed, comfortable with his arms around her. He pulled away just a little and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Eleanor blushed and Regulus pulled away.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I shouldn't have done that."

Eleanor smiled sadly and reached out one hand to pat Dexter. Regulus watched with interest as she scratched Dexter at the top of her neck, just where she liked it. Dexter closed her eyes and purred softly.

"How did you know she'd like that?"

"My grandmother has a cat. I just thought that Dexter might like the same things."

Regulus smiled. "Are you close to your grandmother?"

Eleanor nodded. "Yes, very close. I always have been. She has taught me a lot."

Regulus had always been surprised when people told him they were close to their family. Ever since Sirius had left, he had hated almost all of his family and he couldn't imagine ever being close to them now. Eleanor's long blonde hair fell across her face, as she spoke to Dexter softly. Regulus couldn't help noticing how innocent and beautiful she was. He shook his head. He'd just been hurt by someone he loved. He couldn't risk that happening again. He looked away, fixing his vision on a crack in the wall beside his bed. Eleanor looked up from Dexter, concerned.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem…distracted."

"I'm fine."

"If you're sure…"

Regulus reached out and scratched Dexter between her ears. He was careful to not let his hand brush Eleanor's. Eleanor pulled her hand away and leaned back in her chair to watch Regulus. Dexter climbed onto his lap and curled up in a tight ball. Regulus smiled down at her, and continued scratching her between her ears. Eleanor smiled. Regulus didn't notice her watching him and he wasn't worried about being affectionate towards Dex in front of her.

"How are you feeling?"

Regulus shrugged. "I guess I'm feeling better. The potions must be doing their job."

Eleanor nodded. "That's good. Has Madam Pomfrey said when she will let you leave?"

"She wants to keep me in until she is sure I'm okay."

"Does she know what caused it?"

"She thinks that a combination of lack of sleep and stress caused me to faint. She says that she's never seen anything like it."

"Does she think you'll be okay?"

"Well for now I should be. But she wants me to come back if anything like this happens again."

"I'm sure Lucius will keep an eye on you."

Regulus laughed bitterly. "I doubt it. All he cares about is that little slut of his."

"I don't understand why you hate her so much."

"She clearly seduced him into dating her."

"How do you know that?"

"Because he had feelings for someone else."

"Who?"

"I…that's private."

Regulus could tell from her eyes that Eleanor thought there was more to it, but she didn't push it.

Regulus cleared his throat. "Can you read some more of the book?"

Eleanor smiled widely. "Do you enjoy it?"

"Yes. I think it helps."

"My grandmother always said it did," Eleanor replied.  
Regulus smiled. "Don't you get a bit self-conscious about reading out loud to people you don't really know?"

"Well I did at first, but I'm used to it now. I like keeping people company."

Eleanor was so unlike anyone else Regulus had every met and every time she spoke, she said something that surprised him. Eleanor stood up and poured Regulus a glass of water, handing it to him with a smile. She returned to her seat and started to read. Both Regulus and Dexter closed their eyes, letting her soft, soothing voice wash over them, like the small waves of a rock pool.


	15. Chapter 15

Lucius and Abbey sat by the fire in the common room, finishing their Charms essays. Abbey yawned and rubbed her eyes, placing her quill down on the table between them. Lucius looked over.

"Tired?"

"Yeah, I think I might go up to bed now."

Lucius nodded. "Have you finished your essay?"

"Yeah, I'll read over it in the morning." She stood up and stretched. She slipped her essay and quill into her bag and threw it over her shoulder. She walked over to Luc's chair and leant down to kiss him quickly. Lucius returned her kiss and then pulled away. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "Thank you," he breathed.

"What on earth for?" she asked, confused.

"For sticking with me despite everything."

"Lucius, your previous relationship would never change how much I love you. You're faithful to me and that's what I care about. I understand that living with someone must make things…complicated." Her eyes widened, as though something had just occurred to her. She lowered her voice. "Did you sleep with him?"

Lucius looked away, blushing. Abbey nodded.

"I thought so. I mean, you share a room. It would be fairly easy. Did you…enjoy it?"

"Well I was drunk and I didn't really remember much the next day, but yeah, I think I did."

"And do you regret it?"

"I…I regret what it has caused."

Abbey nodded. "Well I'm going to go to bed." She kissed his cheek quickly. "Goodnight."

"Night, beautiful. Sweet dreams."

Abbey smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too. Night."

Abbey smiled again and walked towards the stairs of the girls' dormitories. Lucius looked around the common room and smiled when he realised he was alone. He stood up and grabbed the bottle of Firewhiskey and a glass from the usual hiding spot. He returned to the chair he'd been sitting in and poured himself a glass. He took a small sip and placed the glass on the table as he finished his essay. He put his quill down and picked up the glass again. He stared into the glass, watching as his reflection distorted with every moment of the red-brown liquid. He tore his gaze away and put the glass to his lips and paused before draining it. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glass. He placed it on the table and stared into the fire.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucius jumped and looked around. "Regulus! What are you doing out of the Hospital Wing?"

"Madam Pomfrey said I could leave, as long as I promised not to go to classes."

"Are you going to go up to bed?"

"Is that Firewhiskey?"

"Yes…"

"Then no. I'll have some of that."

"Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Yes," Regulus replied, walking over to their hiding spot and retrieving his glass. He held it out to Lucius and he reluctantly poured Firewhiskey into it. Regulus sat in the chair Abbey had been in and took a sip from his glass. Lucius picked up his own glass and let a large gulp of the liquid slide down his throat, burning pleasantly. He watched Regulus, who was staring into the fire, avoiding Lucius' gaze. Regulus took another sip of his drink and watched as the orange light from the fire reflected off his glass. Lucius pulled his gaze away in an attempt to stop his racing thoughts. It was as though his brain and, more importantly, his body were conspiring against him to make everything complicated. He watched Regulus out of the corner of his eye, trying to stop himself from admiring him.

"Kittens. Think of kittens," he whispered to himself.

"What did you say?" Regulus said, turning to face him.

"Nothing," Lucius replied, his cheek reddening.

"Right."

Lucius took another sip of his Firewhiskey and suddenly an idea hit him. He knew that it wasn't a good idea, but in that moment, there was only one thing on his mind. He cleared his throat.

"Do you want to go up to our room?"

Regulus stared at him for a moment, surprised. "Yeah, okay," he said warily.

Lucius packed away his books and threw his bag over his shoulder. He picked up his essay and glass.

"Would you mind…" he said, gesturing to the bottle of Firewhiskey.

"No," Regulus replied, picking up the bottle of Firewhiskey and his own glass. Lucius led the way across the common room and Regulus followed a few steps behind, taking occasional sips of Firewhiskey. They entered the stairwell and Lucius pulled out his wand.

"Lumos," he muttered.

They continued up the stairs until they reached the room. Regulus opened the door as Lucius' hands were otherwise occupied and held it open for him to enter.

"Thanks," Lucius said softly as Reg closed the door behind him. He threw his bag on the floor and went over to his bed. Regulus held out the bottle of Firewhiskey. "More?"

Lucius nodded, holding out his glass. Regulus obliged and then took a large gulp from the bottle. Lucius took a miniscule sip and then placed his glass on the table beside his bed. Regulus continued to drink from the bottle. Lucius felt so terrible about how well his plan was working, but he knew he would enjoy the reward either way. Abbey never need know. Regulus drained the last of the bottle in one large sip.

"No more, Luc," he said, holding the bottle upside down.

"No more," Lucius echoed slowly. Regulus stood up and walked over to him, a little unsteady. He sat down beside him on his bed and pushed a lock of hair behind his ear.

"You're tired, Lucy."

Lucius smiled. "You haven't called me that in ages."

"You'll always be Lucy to me."

"I'm not sure I'm happy about that."

"I still don't give you permission to call me Reggie."

"Of course you don't," Lucius replied, leaning closer.

"Lucy wants to play," Regulus whispered, closing more of the distance.

"He does," Lucius breathed. He closer the remainder of the distance and pressed his lips to Regulus'. Regulus kissed him back, but held back, clearly angling for Lucius to take control. Lucius obliged and kissed him deeply. He wrapped his arms around Regulus and pulled him onto his feet. Regulus pulled away slightly. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to your bed."

"Whatever you say, Captain."

Lucius reclaimed Reg's lips and kissed him passionately, before pushing him down onto his bed. His hands went straight for Regulus' shirt, which he immediately pulled off.

"Not wasting any time, are you?"

Lucius replied by meeting Reg's lips again, before pulling of his pants. Regulus moaned softly as Lucius bit at his neck softly and pushed him away a little.

"My turn," he whispered hungrily.

"I'm all yours," Lucius replied. Regulus flipped them over and pinned Lucius to the bed.

"I'm going to make you regret saying that."

"If you've got what I think you do in mind, I don't think you ever could."


	16. Chapter 16

Lucius woke and instinctively snuggled closer to the body he had his arms around. Suddenly, the events of the previous night came flooding back and his eyes snapped open. He slowly pulled away from Regulus, careful not to wake him. He got out of the bed and picked up his clothes from the floor. He quietly put the clothes away and pulled out his robes. He sat on the edge of his bed, guilt filling him. He stared at Regulus' bare body, which was partially covered by his sheets. Lucius grabbed his wand from beside his bed and waved it to close the hangings around Reg's bed. He didn't want Regulus to suspect what had happened the night before. Lucius sighed and picked up his robes. He walked to the bathroom and dumped his clothes on the floor. He turned on the shower and climbed into it. He wanted the water to wash away what he had done, but he knew that it was a vain hope. He closed his eyes, as tears began to course down his face. He leaned against the shower walls, pressing his back against the cold, hard tiles. His knees gave out underneath him and he collapsed onto the floor. He brought his legs up to his chest, thankful that the flowing water would block out the sound of his sobs.

Regulus woke to the sound of the shower. He rubbed his eyes and looked to the other side of his bed. He frowned, confused. He was sure Lucius had fallen asleep beside him the previous night. He must have moved to his own bed early in the morning. He knew Lucius would remember none of it; he had never been good with alcohol. He stared at the dark green velvet surrounding him. He couldn't believe what he had let himself do. Sure, it was wonderful. And he still cared about Lucius, although he'd never admit that to anyone. He had taken advantage of knowing that Lucius would remember nothing. And he had hurt himself more in the process. This wouldn't bring Lucius running back to him. Especially since he would remember nothing. Regulus had lost everyone he ever cared about and everyone he had thought had cared for him. He thought Lucius would be different. He thought that Lucius would be by his side forever. As his best friend, at least. But he knew there was no chance of that anymore. Everything had changed between them. A tear escaped from the corner of his eye. It was one of his worst decisions. He hadn't fooled himself into hoping that this would change things between them. He had resigned himself to knowing that he could never see Lucius the same way. If he was honest, he'd always thought Luc was gay. Not for him; he'd never suspected that, even if he had joked about it since they were in first year. It still shocked him that Lucius was dating Abbey. He had no idea what Luc saw in her. He put his head in his hands, trying to stop his thoughts. He just wanted to feel numb, to have no thoughts, to have no emotion. He wanted to be empty because that was the only way the pain would end. He heard the shower stop and got out of the bed quickly. He grabbed his clothes and pulled them on quickly. He finished adjusting his tie as Lucius walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed as well.

"We were drinking last night," Regulus said softly.

"Yeah. Do you remember anything?"

Regulus paused before shaking his head. "No. The last thing I remember is leaving the Hospital Wing. How about you?"

"No, nothing."

"Let's hope we didn't do anything stupid," Regulus said flatly.

"I'm sure we didn't," Lucius replied, trying to keep his voice bright.

"Hmmm."

"Why are you wearing your uniform? I thought Madam Pomfrey told to you rest."

"I'm not missing out on more class."

"Regulus…"

"I'm fine!"

"I think you should rest."

"I'm…" Regulus wobbled a little.

"Reg?"

He closed his eyes and grabbed the bed frame to support himself. "I'm fine," he whispered.

Lucius walked over to Regulus quickly and lowered him onto the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"I…I'm fine…"

Tears pricked at Lucius' eyes. "I'm going to take you to the Hospital Wing. I can't take care of you here."

Regulus grabbed his wrist. "Don't leave me alone, Lucius," he whispered hoarsely.

"I won't."

A smile touched Regulus' lips. Lucius pulled off his own robe and then Regulus'. He wrapped his arms around Regulus' slightly limp body. "Tell me if I hurt you." Regulus nodded and wrapped his arms around Luc's shoulders. Lucius helped him to his feet and wrapped one arm firmly around his waist. Regulus tried to do most of the work himself but gave up after a few steps.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't. Preserve your energy."

Regulus put most of his weight on Lucius, his eyes fluttering closed. Lucius tightened his grip on Reg and walked him to the door. "You're going to be okay," he whispered. "I won't let anything hurt you." Regulus' eyes opened slightly, but he couldn't keep them open. Lucius helped Regulus down into the common room, which was entirely deserted, apart from Abbey, who was pacing at the bottom of the stairs, checking her watch. Her eyes snapped up when she heard the pair coming down the stairs and they widened as she took in the sight before her.

"What happened?" she asked, rushing to Lucius' side.

"Regulus was let out of the Hospital Wing last night, but he's weak. I think he might faint again, so I'm taking him back to Madam Pomfrey."

"Do you need any help?"

"Yes, I'm having a bit of trouble. Regulus, Abbey is going to help. Put your other arm over her shoulder."

Regulus slowly pulled one arm away from Luc's shoulder and Abbey pulled it over hers. Lucius kept his arm wrapped firmly around Regulus' body, in order to keep most of Regulus' weight on him.

"I can take more weight, Luc," Abbey said softly.

Lucius nodded and allowed her to take more of Regulus' weight. Regulus had given up trying to walk and allowed Abbey and Luc to walk him through the common room and towards the Hospital Wing. Regulus drifted in and out of consciousness as they walked to the Hospital Wing, his head occasionally lolling onto Lucius shoulder. Lucius was glad that Abbey didn't attempt to talk to him because he felt guilty enough about everything he'd done without having to lie to Abbey. He had tears in his eyes the whole way to the Hospital Wing and he paused outside the door.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Lucius replied, taking a large, slow breath.

Abbey clearly didn't believe him, but had the tact to not push him about it. She pushed the door open. Madam Pomfrey stood just inside the door, speaking to a distressed Eleanor.

"Regulus! Oh my goodness! What happened?"

"Mr Malfoy, Miss Derrick, put him on that bed," Madam Pomfrey told Luc and Abbey calmly.

They complied with her request, placing Regulus on the closest bed. Eleanor followed them, worry clear on her face. Madam Pomfrey began fussing over Regulus and Lucius and Abbey stepped back. Eleanor grabbed Luc's wrist.

"I came in early this morning to see him but he wasn't here. Madam Pomfrey said that she'd let him out."

"Yes, she had. But he was weak again this morning."

"Did anything happen last night that could explain that?" Abbey asked.

Lucius shook his head. "I can't think of anything."

He wasn't sure if they believed him, but the girls didn't question him.

"He'll be okay now," Eleanor said, to herself more than anyone.

"You two should go to class. I'll stay with him."

"I want to stay with you."

Lucius couldn't meet Abbey's eyes. "No, go to class. I don't want you missing anything on my account."

Abbey opened her mouth, as if to argue, but closed it and nodded. "Okay. I'll come back at the end of classes to see you."

"Thank you."

"I'll come and visit him then too," Eleanor added, her eyes remaining fixed on Regulus' body.

Lucius smiled. "He'll like that."

"I'll bring a book to read."

Lucius smiled. "Thank you."

Abbey reached up and kissed his cheek. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Lucius replied, leaning down and kissing her lips softly.

Abbey and Eleanor both turned away from the bed and walked out of the Hospital Wing. Lucius sat down in the chair beside Regulus' bed and sighed. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Regulus' only reply was a deep breath. Madam Pomfrey watched the boys from her office and sighed. She picked up the book from her desk and opened it, returning to her attempts to discover what was making Regulus sick.


	17. Chapter 17

_Regulus sat in the corner of his room, knees to his chest. He was frozen in fear, the streaks of drying tears on his face. He didn't need to strain his ears to hear the argument like he used to. He rarely had to anymore. He heard Sirius' voice, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting a wall. This was followed by shouts from both of his parents, then the sound of footsteps on the stairs. He heard Sirius storm into his room and pull his trunk from the wardrobe to the floor. Regulus heard his parents follow Sirius into the room. _

_"You are a disgrace on this family! Hanging around with Muggle-loving scum and filthy animals!"_

_Regulus closed his eyes. He could imagine the scene taking place in his brother's bedroom. Sirius, packing his trunk as he had as a threat many times before, his parents standing on either side of him screaming, the three red-faced. _

_"I don't care about this family! I don't care about any of you because all you care about is how other people see you!"_

_The words stabbed Regulus. He hated the way Sirius never thought of him as any different to their parents anymore. _

_"How dare you! Family is very important!"_

_"Families don't treat each other like this!"_

_"This is the only family you've ever known! What would you know?"_

_"I know that this isn't love!"_

_"You may think that now, but you'll thank us later."_

_"The only thing I'll thank you for is convincing me that I have to get out of here."_

_The lid of Sirius' trunk slammed closed. Regulus heard him pull it out of his bedroom and then the thump it made on every single step. He heard his parents running after Sirius, screaming, the slam of the front door, then silence. Regulus opened his eyes, his tears renewed. He heard his father storm into the study and the door slam behind him. He heard his mother climbing the stairs. He knew she was coming to deal with her anger in the only way she knew how. He stood up, eyes searching the room for somewhere to hide. Before he could find anywhere, his door was thrown open and his mother entered, her face full of anger and hatred. He backed closer into the wall, eyes wide in fear. His mother approached him slowly and he wished he could slide through the wall into his brother's room. His mother continued to make her way towards him, towering over him. The tears had stopped. His only emotion was fear. It filled him, took over him, became him.  
"Why didn't you stop him?"_

_Regulus stared at her, the fear taking his ability to reply. _

_"We have lost our heir. If you spent more time with him, he wouldn't have left! You are as much of a disgrace as he is. Sirius would have been a much better heir. But now we'll have to deal with you. You must pay for your mistakes. You must learn to be a better heir," she continued. She grabbed Regulus by the front of his shirt and pulled him away from the wall. She tugged him through the house and pushed him onto the ground in front of the family tree tapestry. She raised her wand and within seconds Sirius picture was replaced by a flame which then extinguished and replaced by seared fabric. _

_"That is what will happen to you if you don't behave. Do you understand me?"_

_Regulus nodded._

_"Good. Now time for your punishment."_

_Regulus regained his voice. "No, please, no."_

_"Quiet!" She raised her hand and slapped him across the face. Regulus knew that crying would only earn him more punishment from the women in front of him. He feared her more than anything else. He closed his eyes, ready for the slaps he would receive until his mother was content._

_"Look at me." _

_Regulus forced his eyes open and met hers. "I want to see you learning your lesson." Regulus readied himself for the slaps, grateful that she had not begun with torture by magic But with the mood she was in, that was sure to follow. Regulus concentrated on the wall next to his mother's head. He tried to distract himself from the cutting pain. Suddenly the slaps stopped. "Get up." Regulus pulled himself to his feet quickly. His mother pulled out her wand again, and pointed it at him. Either she had used amen-verbal spell, or his heartbeat was so loud he could hear nothing over it. The ropes wrapped around his body. They burnt his shin and he flinched. She'd never heated them before._

"Regulus!" Eleanor exclaimed, shaking him awake.

Regulus' eyes flew open. "What's wrong?"

"You looked really distressed."

"I was having a nightmare."

"It was only a dream," Eleanor said, taking his hand comfortingly.

"No. It was a memory," Regulus replied, barely audible.

Eleanor's eyes widened. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Where is Lucius?"

"He went to have dinner."

"Isn't it a little early?"

"He wanted to spend more time with you afterwards."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, but I got the impression there was something he wanted to speak to you about."

Regulus blinked. Lucius couldn't suspect what had happened. He just couldn't. It would only complicate things further if Lucius knew.

"Have you had dinner yet?"

"No, I'm waiting for Lucius to get back."

"Eleanor?"

"Yes?"

"I would like to talk to you about it."

Eleanor smiled. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. But it…might be hard."

"Take your time."

"My…mother…she…" He paused and lowered his voice to a whisper. "She beats me…"

Eleanor gasped softly. "Oh my goodness…I had no idea."

Regulus smiled bitterly. "That's how she likes it."

"I would have thought that it would be more likely to be your father…"

"No...he usually just distances himself from us. Well, just me now Sirius has left."

"So you're not close to them?"

"Sirius and I used to be close. But all my parents care about is blood and status and how everyone views us."

"It must be hard to be close to them then."

"Their views are so old fashioned. It's hard to relate to them."

"I can only imagine," Eleanor replied, taking his hand.

Regulus almost pulled his hand away, he rarely let anyone touch him, but Eleanor holding his hand made him feel safe. He squeezed her hand and smiled. Carefully, slowly, he raised their hands towards mouth and pressed his lips softly against her hand. Eleanor smiled, her cheeks growing warm. Regulus met her eyes and smiled at her.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For listening to me. For sitting by my bed while I'm boring and sick and asleep."

"You don't need to thank me." She lowered her voice. "I care about you. I want to stay with you."

Regulus blushed. "Lucius is the only person other person who has told me that they cared about me."

"Not even your parents?"

"They said that they cared about my future. Not that they actually cared about me as a person. I've always just been someone who could either improve or damage their reputation. I don't think I've ever heard them say that they loved me or Sirius. They only love power."

"I thought your family hated Sirius."

"Not until he started questioning their authority and everything they'd brought him up with. Before that he was by far the favourite son."

"I didn't know that."

"Not many people do. It's not something Sirius tells many people. He doesn't want people to know that he was once the perfect little pureblood heir."

Eleanor nodded. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Can you read some more to me?"

"Of course I can."

"Thank you."

"Did your parents ever read to you when you were younger?"

Regulus laughed softly. "Can you imagine the Blacks reading bedtime stories?"

Eleanor considered this for a moment before shaking her head, a small smile on her face.

"Yes it is a rather amusing thought," Regulus said, his smile widening. Eleanor met his eyes and the pair began to laugh together. Eleanor watched as the laugh brightened Regulus' face, bringing life to his eyes. And, although it would be some time before she knew it, in that moment she began to love Regulus Black.


End file.
